Let Me Know You
by Knope.We.Can
Summary: Beca works at her dad's bar, and is perfectly content with being her usual closed off self. That is until her dad hires a new barmaid, the beautiful redhead Chloe. Meanwhile, Chloe has her own problems to deal with, and having a grumpy short-ass for a manager doesn't help. No matter how hot that short-ass may be. Multi-chapter BeChloe. AU. Based off a prompt from storiesaddiction.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello you lot! I feel like I've been away for far too long, even though it's only been a week or something :P**

**Anyway, the lovely storiesaddiction gave me a prompt and I thought I'd give it a go. This first chapter is a bit of a slow start but I have some, hopefully, interesting and exciting things planned! **

**I do not own Pitch Perfect or any of its characters.**

* * *

"Beca, you got a minute?" Beca's dad, John Mitchell, asked as she cleaned up spilled alcohol from the front of the bar.

"What's up?" She asked, still cleaning.

"Bumper quit last night," he said, moving behind the bar so he could talk to her properly.

"Good. He's a tool," Beca replied.

"Well he's a tool we need to replace," John said with a sigh. "I met with a girl about your age this morning. She'll be starting tonight, and you'll be showing her the ropes."

"Dad!" Beca said with a groan. "Why can't Stacie do it?"

"I made you the manager, Becs," he said. "Training new employees falls under your job description. Plus, Stacie would almost definitely just try to sleep with her."

"Please don't make me do this, you know I suck at this kind of thing," Beca said, resisting the urge to pout.

"You get on well enough with the customers," he pointed out.

"I'm serving them booze, they'll love me no matter what," she replied.

"Look, she's just moved to town and she's a nice girl. Just show her what to do and try to smile. I'm not asking you to date her or anything," he said.

"But-"

"End of discussion, Becs. She'll be here at seven and her name's Chloe."

At 6:45pm the door to the bar opened. Beca, who was standing and talking to Stacie, turned to greet the customer.

"Hey, what can I get you?" Beca said, forcing a smile. A stunningly pretty girl with lightly curled ginger hair and shockingly blue eyes approached the bar, nervously. Beca swallowed slightly, taking in her appearance.

"Hi. I'm Chloe. Chloe Beale, I'm supposed to ask for Beca?" Chloe said, with a smile that seemed a lot more genuine than Beca's was.

"Ooo you're the new girl!" Stacie said, leaning over the counter, exposing a substantial amount of cleavage. "You're hot."

"Uh, thanks?" Chloe said, eyeing the girl nervously. "Are you Beca?"

"No!" Beca and Stacie said at the same time.

"No, I'm Beca," the smaller brunette said, nudging Stacie out-of-the-way. "That's Stacie. Welcome to Holden's." Beca gestured around at the bar.

"Can I ask, why is it called Holden's when the owner is called John?" Chloe asked.

"My dad owns the place and he used to be a comparative literature professor. 'The Catcher in the Rye' is his favourite book. Hence the name," Beca said. "Come on then, I'll take you out back."

"How many times have you said that, Beca?" Stacie said, winking at Chloe.

"Shut up, Stacie," Beca replied, leading Chloe away from the bar. They entered a room that had a couple of sofas, a fridge and the door to her dad's office. "You can hang your coat and bag and stuff over there," Beca said, gesturing to the row of hooks on the wall. Beca knocked on her dad's office. "She's here," she said. John opened the door and then greeted Chloe warmly.

"Nice to see you again, Chloe," he said.

"You too, Mr. Mitchell," she replied, shaking his hand.

"Please, call me John," he said. Beca rolled her eyes slightly. "I see you've met my daughter, Beca. She'll be the one keeping an eye on you tonight and showing you how things work."

"Great," Chloe said, smiling at Beca.

"Well, go on then Beca, no time like the present," he said nudging her back towards the bar.

"Come on, newbie, let's get started," Beca said with a sarcastic enthusiasm. Chloe followed her back into the bar, a smile still fixed to her face. "You're way too cheerful," Beca mumbled.

About an hour later and Chloe had pretty much learned how everything worked. She had perfected pulling a pint after a few attempts and had no trouble in working the cash register. Something which had apparently taken Beca weeks to learn, according to Stacie. The only thing she couldn't work out is why Beca seemed so cold towards her. It wasn't that she was rude or anything, just... distant. When the small brunette went on her break, Chloe decided to ask Stacie about it.

"Oh, don't worry about her," Stacie replied. "She's just like that. She has this badass rep she likes to put out, but once you get to know her, you'll find out she's a big softie at heart."

"Really?" Chloe asked, a little relieved.

"Well, no, I wouldn't say softie. But, you know, nice enough," Stacie said with a shrug.

"Oh," Chloe said.

"So John says you're new in town?" Stacie asked.

"Yeah, my boyfriend and I moved here about a week ago," Chloe said, her smile slipping slightly.

"Quit standing about, you two," Beca said, returning from her break.

"Sir, yes sir!" Stacie barked back, nudging Chloe so the redhead would smile again.

"Sorry Beca," Chloe said, moving from behind the bar to go and collect glasses.

"Be nice," Stacie muttered.

"I am being nice," Beca muttered back.

"Jesus, if this is you being nice, I'd hate to see you pissed."

"Keep this up and you will do," Beca replied before moving to serve a customer.

At 2am, the last customers staggered out of the door.

"Get the doors, Stace," Beca said chucking her keys to the taller brunette. Stacie shut and locked the doors before flicking the main lights on. Beca went to the plugged in laptop that was hidden behind the bar and switched off the music that had been quietly playing. She then closed it and packed it up. "Okay, you can head home newbie," Beca said, rubbing her eyes and yawning.

"You don't need help cleaning up?" Chloe asked, puzzled.

"We've got it," Beca replied stretching and hearing her back crack slightly. "I'll show you the exit we use." Once Chloe had collected her things, Beca lead her to the door that lead to the alley that ran alongside the bar. She walked her through the alley and onto the street. "Are you okay getting home?"

"Sure, I live like, five minutes away from here," Chloe said.

"Okay, well I'll see you tomorrow then," Beca replied, standing awkwardly. Chloe smiled at the brunette and gave her a hug. Beca froze, completely taken by surprise. "I guess you're a hugger, then."

"And I guess you're not," Chloe said, laughing before she let her go. She gave a cheery wave as she headed home. Beca returned to the bar in a bit of a daze.

"She's nice," Stacie said, having collected up all the glasses from the tables.

"Yeah," Beca said, opening the cash register and totalling up the amount. "How did I do? Was I friendly?"

"Uh..." Stacie said. "You weren't not friendly."

"I came across like an asshole, didn't I?" Beca said with a groan.

"Not really," Stacie said, "just like, you know, you." Beca groaned again. "Why do you care?"

"I don't," Beca said, defensively.

"Ohhh, you like her, don't you?" Stacie said, her eyes gleaming with excitement.

"No," Beca said, warningly.

"Oh but you do!" Stacie said. "Is this your first crush since she-who-must-not-be-named?"

"We are not having this conversation," Beca said, slamming the register closed.

"Fine," Stacie said, still grinning at her friend who was now blushing. "But she said she has a boyfriend, and they're living together, so, you know, be careful."

"You don't need to worry about me. I don't have a crush," Beca said, slightly confused by the way her heart seemed to sink.

"All the tables are clean, can I go?" Stacie asked after a few minutes of silence.

"Yeah, go on, get out of here," Beca said, before walking Stacie safely through the alley.

"Don't stay here too late, okay?" The tall brunette said. Beca gave her a half-hearted wave but didn't answer as she wearily returned to the bar.

An hour later and Beca finally arrived at her apartment. She dropped onto her couch and switched on the TV, not bothering to go to bed because she knew that she wouldn't sleep. This didn't bother her so much. What did bother her was the fact that she couldn't seem to shake Chloe from her mind. She couldn't explain why the redhead seemed to have burrowed her way into her head, but she was really annoyed that she had.

* * *

Around five minutes after leaving the bar, Chloe arrived home. As quietly as she could, she turned the handle and slipped inside, locking the door behind her. She slipped off her shoes and tried to make her way upstairs.

"Where have you been?" A low voice said from the living room. She sighed.

"Work, Tom. Remember? I started my new job tonight," she said, trying not to sound exasperated.

"It's after 2am," he said, moving from the living room to the hallway where she stood.

"It's a bar. The place only closed ten minutes ago. I told you I'd be working seven 'til two," Chloe said.

"And I told you I didn't want you working in a bar," he said, a nasty edge to his voice.

"We need the money," she said, softly.

"Then get a job some place else," he said, taking a step towards her.

"No where else is hiring," Chloe said, her voice shaking. "Please, Tom, not tonight," she added, pleading. He gave a snort of laughter.

"Okay," he said. Chloe shut her eyes and let out a sigh of relief. She didn't see him clench his hand into a fist.

* * *

**A/N: Okay, so let me know what you think! Good? Bad? Boring?**

**Also, don't worry. 'We Could Be More' has not been abandoned!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey everyone, here's another chapter for you! Another slowish one but things will start heating up in the next chapter. T****hank you to all the followers/reviewers/favouriters/readers :)**

**Also, I suck at photoshop and all that but I attempted some cover art :P**

**I do not own Pitch Perfect or any of its characters.**

* * *

Chloe arrived at work the next evening to find Beca curled up on one of the sofas, sleeping. She couldn't help but stare. The brunette looked so different when she was asleep. She looked so calm and relaxed and her face was free of its usual scowl.

"Quit watching me sleep, weirdo," Beca mumbled, turning so she was facing the back of the sofa. Chloe blushed and hurried out of the room. A few minutes later and Beca joined her behind the bar.

"Sorry about that," Chloe said, apologetically.

"Don't worry about it," Beca replied, her face returning to its usual grumpiness. "Can you give those tables a wipe down?"

"Sure," Chloe said, grabbing a cloth and moving from behind the bar. Beca yawned and stretched, trying to rid herself of the itchy tiredness that seemed to have settled behind her eyes. She hadn't slept last night. In fact, she very rarely slept at her apartment. Even when she did, it was only ever a couple of hours on the sofa. Truth be told, she hadn't slept in her bed in months. Not since _she_ left. Beca shook herself again. She was not following that train of thought. Not tonight.

"What's got you looking so serious?" Her dad said, jolting her from her thoughts.

"Nothing," Beca said.

"So, how's Chloe working out?" He said, looking at the redhead who was wiping up the spilled alcohol from the table.

"She's fine," Beca said, her eyes trained on the girl. "Pretty cheerful but we'll soon knock that out of her."

"Oh, don't make the poor girl jaded and miserable," he said, laughing slightly.

"What's wrong with jaded and miserable?" Beca asked, her eyebrows raised. "It works for me."

"If you say so," he said, walking from the bar. Around half an hour later and a group of their regulars came in. They all sat on stools in front of the bar, and Beca introduced Chloe to everyone.

"This is Jesse," she said, gesturing to the dark-haired boy, around their age, "and Benji," Benji raised his hand and smiled, "Luke," she gestured to the muscular, good looking boy who smiled,"and this is Stacie's girlfriend Aubrey. " The blonde girl on the end waved. "And obviously you know Stacie. This is our new barmaid, Chloe," Beca said.

"Nice to meet you all," Chloe said, smiling at the group sat in front of her. They all chatted for a while, while Beca served some other customers.

"What's up short-stack!" A loud Australian girl said, walking into the bar. She was dressed in black and had a florescent, reflective yellow arm-band on.

"Hey Amy," Beca said, moving to greet the girl. "Hey, newbie, this is our bouncer Amy," Beca said, calling Chloe over.

"I'm Chloe," she said, shaking Amy's hand.

"Call me Fat Amy," Amy said, patting her stomach proudly.

"You call yourself Fat Amy?" Chloe said, her eyebrows raised.

"Yeah, so twig bitches like you don't do it behind my back," Amy said with a wink. "You get any trouble, you call me. I've wrestled crocodiles and dingos simultaneously." Amy left the bar, leaving a confused Chloe in her wake.

"You'll get used to her," Beca said, smirking at Chloe's expression. "Stacie, your shift starts in a few minutes. Move your ass," Beca added, returning to her group of friends.

"Urgh, you're such a slave driver Mitchell," Stacie said, giving Aubrey a quick kiss. Stacie moved behind the bar, nudging Beca with her hip, sending the smaller girl flying. Chloe giggled as Beca clung to her to stop herself from falling over. Chloe straightened her up and their faces became inches apart.

"Sorry," Beca said, blushing furiously.

"Beca Mitchell is blushing!" Jesse jeered.

"Shut up, Jesse," Beca said, scowling at him. Chloe giggled again.

"Becky, do you have any new mixes for me?" Luke asked, saving Beca from the embarrassment. Luke worked at the local radio station and would always try to play Beca's music. She handed him a flash drive full of new music. "Great."

"Wait, you make music?" Chloe asked, surprised.

"Who do you think supplies all the music they play in here?" Aubrey asked, grinning at Beca's clear discomfort.

"This is you now?" Chloe said, open-mouthed and pointing at the ceiling, trying to gesture at the music.

"Yep," Beca said, tight-lipped.

"This is awesome!" Chloe said, enthusiastically. Beca felt the corners of her mouth tug upwards into a small grin.

A few hours later and her friends were suitably drunk.

"Becky, can I get a beer?" Luke said.

"You can if you quit calling me that," Beca said, pulling him a pint.

"Rebecca Mitchell, may I have a beer, please?" He said. Beca smirked at him and handed over the glass.

"You should probably lay off the beers, dude," Jesse said, slurring slightly, "you aren't gonna be 22 forever, you know." Luke lifted up his shirt, revealing his abs.

"I think I'm good," he said.

"He's good, you're good," Chloe said, swallowing hard.

"And the chess match continues," Jesse said, trying to keep a straight face as Luke laughed at him.

"Can I get you anything else, Jess?" Beca asked, taking away his empty glass.

"Just your hand in marriage, Becs," Jesse said, taking her hand.

"Oh Jesse, we've talked about this. And as long as you have a penis, it just isn't going to work out," she said, ruffling his hair affectionately. Chloe and the rest of the group laughed.

"Fine," he said, sighing, "then I guess just another beer please."

A few minutes later and Chloe was carrying a stack of glasses back behind the bar, intending to load them into the dishwasher, when Stacie chose this moment to sneak up behind Beca and give her a fright. Predictably, Beca shouted and swore and whacked Stacie in the arm. Chloe however, dropped the glasses she was holding at the sudden noise and was rapidly trying to get her breathing back under control, hoping no one had noticed the way she had squeezed her eyes shut at the noise.

"Sorry," she muttered, crouching down to clean up the glass. The rest of the group hadn't noticed Chloe's reaction but Beca had, and she had seen that kind of thing before. She crouched in front of Chloe had helped her pick the glass up.

"Okay?" Beca asked softly. Chloe nodded, her heart still racing. Her hands were shaking slightly and she cut herself on a shard of glass.

"Shit," she said.

"Come on," Beca stood and pulled Chloe up with her, "Stace, watch the bar for a minute." She led the redhead from the bar into the back.

"I'm fine," Chloe said.

"I know this might sound stupid, but there are rules that state we aren't allowed to bleed into customers' drinks," Beca said, smirking. Chloe laughed and allowed Beca to take her hand and clean it under the faucet. After she rinsed the blood off, Beca took a bandage from the first aid kit and began wrapping it around Chloe's hand. That's when she spotted the bruises on Chloe's wrists. Beca felt like someone was squeezing her heart as her earlier suspicions were confirmed. Her fingers lightly brushed along the bruises once she had finished wrapping the cut. The redhead pulled her hand from Beca's.

"Thanks," Chloe said, moving from the room and back to the bar, leaving a worried Beca behind. The brunette dropped onto the sofa and buried her head in her hands.

"Oh fuck," she sighed.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hey there kiddos, here's the latest chapter. I'm sorry if this sucks but I'm super tired right now :P**

**Slight trigger warning (abuse)**

**I do not own Pitch Perfect or any of its characters**

* * *

_**Ten-year-old Beca was crouched on the stairs, an hour after she was sent to bed. She could hear her mom crying again. Could hear her step-dad shouting. She wanted to do something to help her but was frozen in fear. Suddenly the door swung open and bathed the hallway in light. Beca held her breath, scuttling back so she was pressed against the wall, still hidden in shadows. Her step-dad stormed through the living room door and then out of the front door, slamming it shut. After a few seconds Beca cautiously descended the stairs and entered the living room. She approached her sobbing mother, who was sat on the sofa, her hand pressed against her ribs.**_

_**"Mom?" Beca said, her voice small. "Are you okay?"**_

_**"Hey baby," she said, smiling softly, tears still spilling down her cheeks. She opened her arms and allowed the tiny brunette to wrap her arms around her. She grimaced in pain, but Beca didn't see, her face was buried in her mother's chest.**_

_**"Mom, when is he going to stop hurting you?" She asked, her voice slightly muffled. "You said he'd stop."**_

_**"I know," her mom said, running her hand through Beca's hair, "he'll stop soon. I promise."**_

Beca woke up, pain shooting through her neck due to the position she slept in on the sofa. Ever since the incident with Chloe the other day, images from Beca's childhood had been cropping up in her dreams. Frankly, they just gave her another reason not to sleep. She sat up and stretched, hearing her back and neck crack satisfyingly. She picked up her cigarettes and a lighter before moving to perch by the window. She opened it and then lit a cigarette, feeling the stress leave her as she inhaled the smoke. The sun was just beginning to come up and the city was bathed in a pale blue light. She closed her eyes and rested her head against the window, trying to rid the images in her head. Images of her mother cowering beneath the imposing silhouette of her step-dad. Images of Chloe cowering beneath a similar, unknown figure. Images of bruises, blood, crying and begging.

* * *

That night at work and Chloe was just finishing up her shift and Stacie was getting ready to take over, when a boy about their age entered the bar. Beca felt Chloe tense up beside her.

"Hey baby," she said, her voice a little high. Beca glanced at Chloe and then back to the boy. He was tall with dark hair and had a crooked smile that, under normal circumstances, would look charming.

"Hey," he said, leaning across the bar to kiss her. "You ready to go?"

"Yeah, just let me grab my stuff," she said, leaving the bar.

"So you must be Tom," Stacie said. He nodded, his eyes momentarily dropping to her chest. The rest of the group introduced themselves as Beca kept her distance, serving customers on the end of the bar while watching him wearily. "You guys should stay and have a drink with us," Stacie said, when Chloe returned with her coat and bag.

"That's okay," Chloe said, "we have to head back."

"Oh go on! Stay for one," Aubrey said. Beca watched as Chloe looked nervously up at Tom.

"She doesn't want to drink with you losers," Beca said, trying to help Chloe out. The redhead gave her a small smile.

"We can stay for one, Chlo'," Tom said, taking a seat by the bar. "I'll have a Jack and coke," he added to Beca. "Make it a double." Beca saw Chloe's face fall as she took a seat beside him.

"How about you, Chloe?" Stacie asked as Beca made Tom's drink.

"Just a diet coke," Chloe said. Tom let out a chuckle.

"Have a real drink. Jesus," he laughed. Chloe tried to smile.

"Fine, I'll have a glass of white wine please, Stace," she said.

"That's more like it," Jesse said.

An hour or so, and several Jack Daniels, later and Tom was getting pretty drunk. Beca watched as he charmed her friends and made them laugh. Beca seemed to be the only one not falling for it. She had watched Chloe's demeanour change from her usual bubbly, cheerful self into someone nervous and quiet. She was nursing the same glass of wine she had first ordered and flinched every time Tom laughed loudly, or hit the bar with his hand to emphasise a point. When his hand started wandering up Chloe's leg, Beca knew she had seen enough for now.

"Stacie, are you okay on your own for a bit? I'm just popping out for a smoke," Beca said.

"No problem shorty," Stacie said.

"You shouldn't smoke," a small voice said, drawing her attention back to the bar. "It's bad for you." Chloe was giving her a small sad smile.

"I'll bare that in mind, Red," Beca said, enjoying the way Chloe's smile seemed to grow at the use of the nickname. Beca left the bar and went out of the side exit, leaning against the wall of the alley as she filled her lungs with smoke. She was only out there for a few minutes when she heard raised voices coming from the street. She stubbed her cigarette out against the wall and walked towards the voices.

"Jesus, Chloe, can't you lighten the fuck up?!" She recognised Tom's voice.

"I'm sorry, okay? It's just that it's been a long shift and I want to go home," Chloe said, an edge to her voice that Beca hadn't heard before.

"You just don't like it when I have fun," he replied.

"I don't like it when you get shit-faced, Tom. There's a difference," she bit back. There was the sound of a scuffle and a muffled squeal. Beca practically ran out of the alley and saw Tom, his face centimetres away from Chloe's, his hand squeezing her face as he held her against the wall.

"You don't fucking tell me what to do, okay?" He said, his face red and his voice shaking with barely suppressed rage.

"Hey!" Beca shouted, moving towards the couple. Tom removed his hand immediately.

"Fuck do you want?" He said, moving towards Beca.

"I want you to leave her the fuck alone," she said. "Chloe, are you okay?" She asked. Chloe nodded, shaking slightly.

"Stay out of this, dyke," he said, looking down at her.

"Tom, leave her alone," Chloe said, her voice wavering. "Come on, let's go home."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Beca asked, moving past Tom, not allowing him to intimidate her. He grabbed her arm and pushed her back.

"I said stay out of it," he said.

"Beca, I'm fine. Go back to the bar," Chloe said, pulling Tom away. "I'll see you tomorrow." Beca watched feeling totally helpless as Chloe led Tom away from her and back towards her home. Shaking slightly, Beca returned to the bar.

"What was all that shouting?" Aubrey asked as she returned.

"Just... Just some drunk couple arguing, that's all," Beca said, pouring herself a glass of water.

"Are you okay?" Stacie asked in a low voice, turning away from the group. She was the only one of Beca's friends who knew about her past, so she knew what the sight of a fighting couple would have done to her. Beca nodded, wanting nothing more than to leave the bar, go and find Chloe and take her away from Tom.

* * *

During their next shift, Chloe seemed to be avoiding Beca, as if she knew that the brunette would want to bring up what happened. Every time they were alone together, Chloe would make an excuse and leave the room.

"Why so tense?" Stacie asked, standing behind Beca and placing her hands on her shoulders. Beca shrugged, watching as Chloe loaded glasses into the dishwasher. Stacie followed her line of sight and sighed.

"Becs, I told you to be careful with her," she said softly. "I'm sorry, but you don't have a chance there. I mean, come on, you've seen her boyfriend." _I sure have_ thought Beca.

"It's nothing to do with her. I just haven't been sleeping well, that's all," Beca said, shrugging Stacie's hand off her shoulders.

"Are you still boycotting your bed?" Stacie asked.

"Can we have this conversation another time?" Beca groaned.

"When?" Stacie asked, laughing.

"When I'm too drunk to realise we're talking about my feelings," Beca said, pulling a face at the word feelings. Stacie laughed again. Chloe stood up, a little too quickly, and winced before putting a hand to her ribs. "Hey," Beca said, softly. "Go take a break."

"I don't need a break," Chloe said, forcing a smile and dropping her hand.

"I wasn't asking," Beca replied. Chloe's smile changed from fake to grateful and she left the bar. "Stace, watch the bar for a sec," Beca said a few minutes later before joining Chloe in the back. The redhead stood to leave as she saw Beca enter. "Sit down," she said. Chloe sighed and dropped back onto the sofa. Beca sat beside her, unsure what to say but knowing that she needed to say something. "Look-"

"You don't need to give me a lecture," Chloe said, "I know what you're going to say. But you don't need to. I know what I'm doing, I can handle him." Beca reached across and raised the sleeve of Chloe's jumper, revealing her bruised arm.

"Looks like it," Beca said, feeling a lump rise in her throat. Chloe pulled her arm away. "He won't stop, Chloe. You know that, right? No matter how many times he swears he won't do it again, no matter how many bunches of apology flowers you get, he'll never stop. Then one day," Beca's voice caught in her throat, "one day he'll go too far."

"You don't know what you're talking about," Chloe said, her voice a whisper. "You don't know me."

"Then let me know you," Beca replied. "And I know more than you think." Chloe looked up at her now. Beca grabbed a piece of paper from the table and scribbled down her address and number. "If you need a place to stay or just someone to talk to," she said, handing it over.

"Why are you doing this? You don't even like me," Chloe said sadly. Beca closed her eyes, and rested her head against her interlocked hands.

"I'm sorry if I came across like that," Beca said, hastily wiping away tears. "I didn't mean to. I can be a bit of an ass-hole sometimes." Chloe laughed lightly. "But I do like you," she looked at Chloe now. "I like you a lot."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: You're all super awesome and lovely and your reviews are the best :)**

**Thank you for all the follows and favourites too!**

**There seemed to be a bit of trouble when I first posted this chapter so I deleted it and re-posted it, hoping that that would fix it (fingers crossed!)**

**I do not own Pitch Perfect or any of its characters.**

* * *

_'I like you a lot', what a dumb thing to say,_ Beca thought, lying on her sofa. She cringed at herself and pressed her hands into her eyes, blocking out the light.

"Idiot," she muttered. Her phone buzzed on the table and she picked it up, the light from the screen burning her eyes.

**Stacie: It's your night off. Why aren't you here drinking with the rest of us?**

Beca tapped out her reply.

**Beca: I spend 99% of my life in that bar.**

**Stacie: And the other 1% is spent in your apartment. Come and get drunk with me. We can talk about our feelings and shit. Pleeeeeeease**

**Beca: You aren't making the compelling case you think you are**

**Stacie: Just get your ass here before we turn up and drag you out**

Beca groaned before accepting defeat.

**Beca: Fine. But for the record, I hate you.**

**Staice: Love you too!**

She rolled off the sofa and got ready. About half an hour later she arrived at the bar and was greeted with a cheer from her suitably drunk friends.

"You're a bunch of weirdos," she said, sitting beside Stacie at the bar.

"What can I get you?" Chloe said from behind the bar. Beca looked up, a little wide-eyed, surprised to see the redhead working.

"Uh, vodka and coke please. Hey, how come you're working tonight?" Beca asked.

"Your dad offered me an extra shift so I took it," Chloe replied with a shrug, not quite meeting Beca's eye.

"Is everything-"

"Everything's fine, Beca," Chloe said forcing a smile before she went off to make Beca's drink.

"Wow, you could cut the tension with a knife," Stacie muttered.

"Don't even start," Beca replied, miserable. Chloe put her drink in front of her but before Beca could say anything else, the redhead had moved away to talk with Jesse and the boys at the other end of the bar. Beca finished her drink in two big gulps.

"Did something happen?" Aubrey asked, confused.

"Nope," Beca said, gesturing to their other barmaid. "Can I get another of these, Ashley? Make it a double," she added. She decided that since she was forced to sit here and get bombarded with questions, she might as well get pissed while she does it.

"I ran into Izzy today," Aubrey said, casually. Beca felt her hand clench around her glass. "She was asking about you." Beca shrugged and took a drink. "I think she misses you, Becs," Aubrey said, a little softer.

"That's nice," Beca replied.

"Don't you think you should speak to her?" Aubrey said, ignoring the glare she got from Stacie.

"No," Beca said, finishing her drink. "No, I don't think I should."

"I'm with Beca on this one," Stacie said.

"I just think it's a shame, they were so good together," Aubrey said in a low voice that only Stacie was supposed to hear. Beca couldn't blame Aubrey, she didn't know the whole story, but she still couldn't keep the edge out of her voice when she replied.

"We were good together. Until she fucked some other girl in my bed," she said, hearing her friends fall silent around her for a few seconds before they carried on their conversations, pretending they hadn't heard. Beca was grateful. She didn't want to discuss it and they knew that. She saw a drink get pushed in front of her and looked up to see Chloe giving her a sad smile. "Thanks," Beca said, smiling back.

"I'm sorry, Beca," Aubrey said, "I didn't know."

"I know you didn't," Beca said, relaxing slightly as she took another drink. "I'm going for a smoke," she said, standing and leaving the bar. She leaned against the wall of the alley and lit a cigarette, closing her eyes against the wind.

"Hey," a gentle voice said a few seconds later. Beca opened her eyes and saw Chloe, nervously approaching.

"Hi," Beca said back.

"Sorry your girlfriend cheated on you," Chloe said.

"Yeah. Me too," Beca replied. "But it was like six months ago, so..." She trailed off with a shrug.

"I never said thank you," Chloe said, fiddling with the cuffs of her sleeves. "I really appreciate you offering to help, but you don't need to. You don't have to worry about me."

"I don't want to see you get hurt, Chlo'," Beca said, looking at the nervous girl in front of her, wondering how many injuries she had hidden beneath her clothes.

"I won't," Chloe said.

"You can't guarantee that," Beca replied, stubbing her cigarette out on the wall. She tried to return to the bar but stopped when she felt Chloe's hand close around her arm.

"You said before that knew more than I thought about this. What did you mean?" Chloe said. Beca hesitated. She hadn't spoken about this in a long time.

"My step-dad, he..." she paused, her voice shaking. "He used to beat my mom." Tears were burning in Beca's eyes.

"Shit, Beca. I'm sorry," Chloe said, not letting go of her arm. "How old were you?"

"It started when I was ten," Beca said, "it lasted until I was twelve."

"So he stopped?" Chloe asked.

"Oh he stopped," Beca said with a hollow laugh. "Just as soon as he killed her."

* * *

Beca returned home from the bar and was still, annoyingly, sober. She changed back into her shorts and a baggy t-shirt and curled up on the sofa, pulling a blanket over herself. She felt like crap. With tears spilling down her face, her worst memory began to assault her.

_**Beca walked home from school with an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. She had decided not to get the school bus, chosing instead to walk. She was in no hurry to get home. She never was. But today there was a nagging feeling inside her. The closer she got to her house the worse it got. When she reached her street she became aware of the neighbours all waiting in their yards, looking in the direction of her house. Her walking sped up, her heart beating uncomfortably. When she was a few houses away from her own she noticed the police cars and the ambulance. She broke into a run and felt a hand close around her arm.**_

_**"Hold up there, kiddo," her neighbour, Todd said. She liked Todd. He was in his early twenties and had just moved next door a few months ago with his fiancé. Sometimes when her step-dad scared her too much, she would run into her back garden and she would usually find him sitting in his, smoking on the back porch. She pulled herself from his grasp and tried to get into her house. "Beca, wait," he called after her.**_

_**"Kid, you can't go in there," a police officer said, holding her back.**_

_**"This is my house," Beca said, trying push past him.**_

_**"I'm telling you, you can't go in there," he said, his grip tightening. As she struggled against him, a couple of paramedics walked out of the house, pushing a stretcher between them. Whoever was on the stretcher was covered with a white sheet, but their arm had dropped down. Beca's eyes were fixed on it. It was a woman's arm, with bracelets wrapped around the bruised wrist.**_

_**"That's my mom's bracelet," she said, as the fight left her. "Is she..."**_

_**"What's your name, kid?" The police officer asked, taking Beca away from the house and crouching in front of her.**_

_**"Beca," Beca replied, her eyes glazed with tears. "He killed her, didn't he?"**_

_**"I'm sorry, sweetheart," he said, looking up at her, sadly. "Do you have anyone we can call?"**_

_**"Just my dad," she said, her voice shaking. "But I don't know where he lives."**_

_**"We'll find him, hon," he said.**_

_**"What did he do to her?" She asked, her eyes drifting over to the ambulance.**_

_**"I think he just went too far," he said with a sigh.**_

Beca was broken from her thoughts by a timid knock at her door. Wiping her eyes, she moved to answer it. Chloe was standing there, her eyes sparkling with unshed tears, a cut on her forehead was slowly oozing blood down the side of her face.

"I didn't know what else to do," she said, before she started quietly crying.

"I'm glad you're here," Beca said, pulling the girl into a hug.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hey there everyone. I wanted this up a bit sooner but I didn't finish work until 8pm and I'm super tired and have a killer headache so this took longer to write than it should have :P Anyway, enough of me and my personal crap. Big thank you to reviewers/readers/followers/favouriters, you guys are aca-awesome.**

**Slight trigger.**

**I do not own Pitch Perfect or any of its characters.**

* * *

Beca lead Chloe into her apartment and sat her on the sofa.

"Are you using this sofa as a bed?" Chloe asked, looking at the blanket and pillows.

"Kind of," Beca replied, returning from the kitchen with a damp towel and a first aid box. She sat on the coffee table in front of the sofa and began gently cleaning the blood from Chloe's face.

"I'm sorry for just turning up like this," Chloe said, smiling at the look of pure concentration on Beca's face.

"Don't be silly," Beca replied. "I was really worried, I'm glad you came." Chloe winced as Beca got closer to the cut. "Sorry," she said, pulling the cloth away, "I can be a little heavy-handed." Chloe chuckled lightly. Beca reached into the first aid box and pulled out an anti-septic wipe. "This is going to sting a bit." She pressed the wipe to the cut and Chloe took a sharp breath. She took a band-aid from the box and placed it over the cut that had thankfully stopped bleeding, before she quickly pressed her lips to it. "That's the best I can do," she said, blushing slightly at her own actions.

"Thank you, Beca," Chloe said, softly, tears creeping to her eyes. Beca tidied away the first aid box and chucked the bloodied towel into the washing machine. She returned with a cup of tea for Chloe and sat beside her, their legs touching slightly.

"So what happened?" Beca asked, finally. Chloe didn't say anything for a few minutes, she just stared at her hands that were clenched together, knuckles turning white. Beca reached across and took one of her hands and began soothingly rubbing her thumb across the redhead's knuckles.

"He got mad at me for working tonight," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "It was supposed to be my night off and we were going to go out. But he isn't working right now and we really need the money. And I knew what would happen if we went out. He'd get drunk and then he'd... Well, you know." Beca gave her hand a squeeze as her voice faltered. "It turns out that he started drinking as soon as I left for work, so he was pretty wasted by the time I got back," Chloe said, wiping away the tears that had started falling. "He started yelling. Accusing me of cheating. The usual. When I tried to ignore him and go to bed he... He grabbed me... He's never gone this far before," she finished, unable to say what he had done.

"It's okay," Beca said, softly. "You're away from him now." Chloe was silent. "You are leaving him, right?"

"I... I don't know," she said softly, staring back down at her hands.

"Come on, Chlo'," Beca sighed. "Why would you put up with this?"

"He's... He's not all bad," she said. "When he isn't drinking he's funny and charming and sweet."

"Chloe, he beats you," Beca said, her voice hard. "You don't deserve that. Fuck, no one deserves that. You're an amazing person and you need to understand that you don't have to be in a relationship where you're treated like..." Beca was so furious she struggled getting her words out, "like you're nothing."

"Becs, I've been with him since high school. He... He loves me. I know he does," she said. Beca could see her resolution weakening however.

"Look at me," Beca said. The redhead's sparkling blue eyes met Beca's stormy blue eyes. "What he's doing isn't love." She swept a strand of hair from Chloe's face, tenderly tucking it behind her ear. She still didn't look convinced. "Come with me." Beca stood and took Chloe's hand, leading her into the bedroom. She positioned her in front of a full-length mirror. "I'm going to turn away, but I want you to look at, and I mean really look at, every injury you have on your body from him. I want you to count them. I want you to think about which ones are still painful, and which ones are fading away. When you're done I want you to tell me that he loves you."

"Beca," Chloe said, clearly unsure.

"Please, Chloe," Beca said. "Please do this. For me."

"Why?" Chloe asked.

"My mom would refuse to look at herself after my step-dad hit her. She refused to acknowledge what he did," Beca said, tearing up a little. Chloe knew she couldn't refuse Beca now so she nodded and faced the mirror again. Beca turned away and heard Chloe undress. Chloe stared at her reflection. She counted the bruises on her arms, pressing down on them and wincing in pain. Her fingers brushed over her bruised ribs, stomach and thighs. Then she touched the band-aid on her forehead. Tears crept out of her eyes again as she slowly redressed.

"Can I turn around?" Beca asked, wanting to comfort her but not wanting to invade her privacy.

"Yeah," Chloe said with a sniff. "You're right, Beca." Beca gave a sigh of relief and moved to pull the redhead into a hug.

"You're gonna be okay, Chlo'," she said closing her eyes as she held Chloe tightly.

"Thank you," Chloe whispered, gripping back equally as hard. After a few minutes, Chloe let out a yawn and Beca realised how late it was. The sun was just beginning to peek through the curtains of her bedroom. Beca handed Chloe some clothes to change into.

"I'll see you in the morning and maybe we can talk some more?" Beca said, intending to return to the sofa. "You're off work tomorrow, right?" Chloe nodded. "Good, me too. If you need anything, I'll be out here."

"Wait," Chloe said as Beca went to leave. "You're sleeping on the sofa?"

"I mean I probably won't sleep but, yeah I guess," Beca said, hovering in the doorway. "I tend not to spend any time in here."

"Could... Could you, maybe, stay with me?" Chloe asked, nervously. Beca hesitated. "Please," she said, her voice breaking.

"Sure," Beca said, hesitantly approaching the bed.

"It's just a bed, Becs. It's not her," Chloe said, sensing the brunette's discomfort. Beca nodded but was still eyeing the bed as if it would bite her. Beca cautiously joined Chloe in the bed. The redhead took Beca's arm and draped it over her waist, essentially forcing her to be the big spoon. "Is this okay?"

"Yeah, yeah this is nice," Beca said, swallowing hard.

"I just... Need to be held, you know?" Chloe said, stroking her thumb across the back of Beca's hand.

"Yeah," Beca said again. Nervously, she moved her other arm so it was resting on Chloe's pillow, just above her head. From there she started gently playing with Chloe's hair. "I read something once about frogs," Beca said.

"Yeah?" Chloe said. The soft sound of Beca's voice and the comforting way she was stroking her hair was making it almost impossible for her to stay awake.

"If you put a frog in a pot of boiling hot water, it'll immediately jump out," she said, the thumb of her other had begun brushing across Chloe's exposed hipbone.

"Mmm hmm," Chloe said sleepily, to show she was still listening.

"But if you put a frog in a pot of normal, room temperature water, and then slowly heat the water up, the frog will stay there until it boils. The thing I read said that's basically what domestic violence is like. It just creeps up on you, until one day you either jump out or... Well, you know," she said.

"Yeah... Yeah I never thought of it like that," Chloe replied. She yawned again and Beca chuckled. Chloe felt her breath brush against her neck and she blushed slightly.

"Go to sleep, Chlo'," Beca said, pressing a small, shy, kiss to the back of her neck. A few seconds later and Chloe was asleep with Beca not far behind her.

* * *

**A/N: ****I don't have any experience with abusive relationships or anything like this, so I don't know if the advice that Beca gives to Chloe in this chapter would really work or is even appropriate but it seemed to make sense to me, so sorry if I got any of that wrong**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Here's the latest chapter! Thank you to all the reviews etc, you guys are amazing. Whenever I feel like crap, all I need to do is look at the nice things you say and it picks me right back up :)**

**Trigger warning.**

**I do not own Pitch Perfect or any of its characters.**

* * *

"Beca? Are you in here?" Stacie said from the living room. Beca woke up, her arms still wrapped around the sleeping Chloe. She carefully untangled herself and snuck out of the room. She could still hear Stacie calling.

"Shh," Beca said, closing the bedroom door behind her.

"What? Why?" Stacie asked, confused.

"You'll wake her up," Beca said without thinking.

"Wake who up? Oh my god, Beca, do you have a girl in there?!" Stacie said, shocked.

"Shut up, will you? It's not like that," Beca said, trying to keep herself and Stacie quiet.

"Who is she?" Stacie asked, eagerly. Beca hesitated.

"It's Chloe," she said.

"Wow, that escalated quickly," Stacie said, eyebrows raised and surprised.

"Nothing happened," Beca said. "She just spent the night that's all."

"Why?" Stacie asked, not believing the small brunette. Again Beca hesitated. She knew if it was her she wouldn't want her personal life getting spread around.

"It's not really my place to say," Beca said. "What are you doing here, anyway?"

"Aubrey said she thought you looked miserable last night and she was worried. And then you didn't answer your phone this morning so she sent me over to check on you," Stacie said. "I have the spare key, remember?"

"Well tell Aubrey I'm fine and not to worry," Beca said, subtly walking Stacie to the door. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" Beca heard the bedroom door open and close behind her and she turned to see a timid looking Chloe. "Did we wake you?" She shook her head and smiled slightly.

"Hi, Stacie," she said.

"Hi," Stacie said, her eyes taking in the bruises on Chloe's exposed arms and the band-aid on her forehead. It dawned on Stacie why she had spent the night at Beca's.

"I'd really appreciate it if you didn't say anything to anyone about this," Chloe said, softly.

"Of course I won't," Stacie said. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she said, smiling with relief, "thanks."

"I'll leave you both to it then," Stacie said, giving Beca a playful nudge.

"See you, Stacie," Beca said, practically pushing the tall brunette out of the door. Chloe giggled lightly. "How are you feeling?"

"Better," Chloe replied, taking a seat on the sofa, "thank you for last night."

"Don't mention it," Beca said, sitting beside her. "Seriously, don't mention it. I have a badass reputation to uphold and that'll never last if everyone knows I have a nice side." Chloe laughed again. Beca knew, no matter how many times she heard it, that she would never get used to that sound. "So, do you wanna maybe go out and grab some lunch later?"

"Yeah, that'd be nice. There's just something I have to do first," Chloe said, looking nervous.

"What?"

"I have to break up with Tom," she said, resolutely. Beca paused for a second before pulling Chloe into a hug.

"I'm so happy you said that," Beca said, her face buried in the mane of red hair. "I was worried that you'd changed your mind." She broke apart the hug, smiling.

"No, what you said last night was right. I don't want to spend the rest of my life scared of being hit because I worked late, or burnt his dinner, or," her voice caught in her throat. Beca reached across and squeezed her hand. "Or didn't want to have sex."

"Jesus," Beca said softly. They sat in silence for a while, their hands still entwined as Beca's thumb brushed across the back of Chloe's knuckles. "How are you going to do it?" Beca asked, eventually breaking the comfortable silence.

"Face to face, I guess," Chloe said with a sigh. "Like I said before, we've been together since we were like sixteen. I can't really end it over the phone."

"After what he's done to you, you could end it by spelling it out in shit on his car and it would still be more than he deserved," Beca said, unintentionally tightening her grip on the redhead's hand. Chloe laughed. "So was he your first boyfriend?" Beca asked after another small silence.

"First boyfriend, yeah. Not my first relationship though," Chloe said. Beca looked at her. "I was with a girl before him for a few months."

"So you're not opposed to the idea of dating a girl then?" Beca said, biting her lip nervously.

"Definitely not," Chloe replied with a small smile.

"That's good to know," Beca said, more to herself.

"Oh yeah?" Chloe said, her smile growing.

"Well, I mean, once everything with Tom has settled down, I was going to see if maybe you wanted to go on a date type thing?" Beca said, cringing at her own words. "Obviously I know it'll take some time before you're ready for that kind of thing. I don't want to rush you or-" Chloe cut off her rambling by pressing their lips together in a small chaste kiss. "Oh..." Beca said, her lips burning slightly. "Okay..."

"A date sounds great, Beca. Maybe in a few weeks or something," Chloe said, laughing at the dazed expression on Beca's face. "I should probably go and do this thing," Chloe said.

"What if he hurts you again?" Beca said, suddenly nervous. Chloe shrugged.

"He probably will," she said. "I can handle it." She stood to leave.

"No," Beca said, standing too. "No, you're not putting yourself at risk like that." Beca thought for a second. "Text him and ask him to meet you at the Starbucks by the bar. That place is always crowded. He won't hit you there. And I'll sit a couple of tables away so I can be there if he tries." Chloe deliberated this before eventually agreeing.

**Chloe: Tom, meet me at the Starbucks next to Holden's. We need to talk**

A few minutes later she got a reply.

**Tom: Okay.**

"Okay, let's do this," Chloe said.

Around ten minutes later and Chloe was sitting at a table close to the coffee counter. All the other tables were full, and Beca was sitting in one tucked away in the corner, her face hidden by a book she was pretending to read. A few minutes later and Tom walked in. Chloe could tell he was already drunk. His eyes were rimmed with red and he was still wearing last night's clothes.

"Hi," Chloe said when he took a seat in front of her. He leaned across the table and kissed her on the cheek. His stubble was rough against her face and she could smell the whiskey on him.

"I'm so sorry about last night," he said, reaching across the table and taking her hands in his. "I never meant to get so out of hand."

"I know," Chloe said. "But whether you meant to or not, it still happened Tom. And it's happened before. And unless I do something, it'll happen again."

"No," Tom said, desperately. "No, it won't babe. I swear I won't do it again."

"Jesus, Tom. You know how many times I've heard you say that?" Chloe sighed. "Look, I can't do this anymore, okay?"

"I love you!" He said. She pulled her hands from his grasp.

"You don't," she said, simply. "You don't hurt the things you love."

"Please," he said, his voice getting slightly louder. "I can change."

"No you can't," Chloe replied. "I need you to move out of my house by the end of the week. We're done, Tom." He slammed his fist onto the table. Several people looked around at him.

"You don't say when we're fucking done," he spat, his demeanour changing in a split second. "I say when we're done. And we're not fucking done, okay? So you need to stop this shit and come home."

"No," Chloe said, her eyes filling with tears.

"You stupid bitch, do you honestly think another man would touch you?" He said, his face red with anger. "You're nothing. Without me, you're nothing."

"If you say that again, I'll throw you through that fucking window," Beca said, appearing at Chloe's side.

"Ohh," Tom said, looking between them. "It's her fault, isn't it? That interfering dyke. She put this in your head."

"No, Tom," Chloe said, her voice a lot stronger than it was. "She cleaned the blood off my face that you put there, and she made me see that I'm worth so much more than you."

"You're leaving me for her?" He spat back.

"I'm leaving you for me," Chloe said, standing. "Out of the house by the end of the week, or I call the cops." Chloe left with Beca close behind.

* * *

After a few hours of drinking at the bar that night, the two girls headed back to Beca's place.

"Night captain," Fat Amy shouted as they left.

"Night Amy," Beca replied, stumbling slightly. Chloe giggled and clutched her arm for support.

"Thanks for letting me stay again," Chloe said as they walked.

"Anytime, Red," Beca said. "Stay as long as you want. It's nice being able to actually sleep again." She added. They walked for a few more minutes, arms linked together, when someone pushed them to the ground. Beca winced as her knee slammed into the pavement. "What the fuck, dude?" She said, turning around to see who had pushed them. Tom was standing there, swaying due to the amount of alcohol in his system. "Get the fuck out of here," Beca said, standing so she was in front of Chloe, who still hadn't gotten up. Tom gave a snort of laughter. Chloe saw his fist flex and tense the way it always did before he hit someone. Beca didn't, her eyes were too busy boring into his. She didn't have time to warn Beca before he struck her across the face.

"Beca!" Chloe shouted, scrambling up to put herself in front of the small brunette. Tom raised his fist again but this time was brought to the ground with a thud. Fat Amy was on top of him, her knees pressing his arms into the ground.

"The way I see it, mate, you've got two options," Amy said, using a frightening tone of voice that Beca had never heard her use before. "You can either fuck off and I mean right now, or I can beat you into the ground before I call the cops. What'll it be?"

"I'll go, I'll go!" He said, grimacing as Amy put more pressure on his arms. She let him go and he took off in the opposite direction.

"Okay short-stack?" Amy asked. Beca nodded, still in shock of what had just happened. "Let me walk you both home." The blonde walked them both back to Beca's apartment building.

"Thank you, Amy," Chloe said, hugging her.

"Anytime," Amy replied. "You'll wanna put some ice on that, captain."

"Yeah," Beca replied, numbly. "Thanks." Chloe took the small brunette upstairs and sat her on the sofa.

"Let me see," Chloe said, sweeping Beca's hair out of her face to reveal the beginnings of a bruise shining on her cheekbone. Chloe went and got an ice-pack from the freezer and held it against Beca's face. She jumped slightly from the cold. "Sorry. Are you alright, Becs?" Beca nodded again.

"Just a bit shocked," Beca said, eventually. In Beca's mind, a memory was replaying, over and over.

_**"Stop hitting her, will you?!" Eleven-year-old Beca said, attempting to force herself between her mom and step-dad.**_

_**"Beca, go upstairs," her mom said, trying to push her daughter out of harms way.**_

_**"No!" Beca shouted, red-faced with exertion. "I won't let him do it anymore." She started hitting him. Slamming her fists into his stomach and arms.**_

_**"Alright, enough!" He said eventually, his hand connecting with the side of her face. They were all momentarily stunned into silence. Beca slowly got up and walked to her bedroom, her face devoid of emotion or expression. She could hear her mom yelling, but it all sounded very far away.**_

_**"Get out of my house!" She heard her shout. "You don't fucking hit my kid!" A few seconds later and the front door slammed. Beca had crawled into bed, her face burning. Her arms were wrapped around a stuffed lion that her dad had given her as a baby. She had never missed him so much, and never hated him for leaving so much, as she did in that moment. She felt her bed dip. "I'm so sorry, baby." She said, brushing the hair from Beca's face.**_

_**"Is he gone for good now?" Beca asked, her voice small.**_

_**"Yes," her mom replied. "I promise."**_

_**The next day he returned with flowers and a new stuffed animal for Beca. Her mom let him back in and Beca didn't speak to either of them for the next month.**_

"Beca, are you still with us?" Chloe asked, peering into Beca's slightly glazed eyes.

"Yeah, sorry," Beca said shaking herself.

"You scared me," Chloe said, sighing with relief. "I'm sorry that you got hurt."

"It's okay," Beca said, reaching up and sweeping a strand of hair behind Chloe's ear. Chloe kissed her bruise, lightly. "I'm so glad you left him."

"Yeah," Chloe said, smiling. "Me too."


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I owe you all like a bazillion apologies for this being a few days late. I'm sorry :( You're all super awesome and I love you and I keep falling asleep at my laptop so I'm just gonna go ahead and post this while I'm still awake :P**

**I do not own Pitch Perfect or any of its characters.**

* * *

A week later and, with the help of Beca, Amy and Stacie, Chloe had moved back into her home. The four girls had checked every corner of the house and then had the locks changed when they were certain it was empty. Beca didn't admit it, but she was sad to see the redhead go. Chloe seemed to sense this and held Beca a little tighter when they said goodbye that night.

"I'll see you at work tomorrow," Chloe said softly.

"Yeah," Beca replied, giving Chloe a squeeze. "See you then, Red."

That night, Beca was lying on the sofa, mixing music on her laptop. She had debated going to sleep but took one look at the empty bed and decided against it. Her eyes were itching with tiredness but she carried on mixing anyway. Her phone buzzed in her pocket. Chloe was calling her. Beca checked the time and saw it was after midnight. Her stomach dropped slightly.

"Chlo'?" Beca said, upon answering. "Is everything okay?"

"I-I'm freaking out, Becs," a scared voice replied. Beca sat up.

"What's happened?" She asked, already pulling on her shoes.

"Th-th-there was a n-noise," Chloe stammered. "It s-sounded like someone was t-trying to get in."

"I'm on my way," Beca said, closing her apartment door behind her. "I've got the spare key, so if anyone knocks, don't answer it, okay?"

"Okay," Chloe said, her voice still shaking. "Thank you."

Beca arrived at Chloe's place in record time and turned her key in the lock. She saw Chloe curled into the corner of the house, a baseball bat in her hand.

"It's me, Chlo'," Beca said softly, approaching slowly. Chloe put her bat down and buried her head in her hands. "Hey, it's okay." Beca sat beside her and put her arm around her shoulders.

"I'm sorry," she said, her words muffled by her hands.

"Don't apologise," Beca said, pulling her hands away. "I'm glad you called me. It's only natural you'd be freaked out."

"Will... Will you stay?" Chloe asked, chewing her lip.

"Of course," Beca replied. "Come on, let's go to bed." She took Chloe by the hand and led her to the bedroom. Chloe tossed her some clothes to wear and the two girls changed before climbing into bed and Beca took up her usual position as the big spoon. Chloe wiggled around so she was facing her, their faces centimetres apart.

"Thank you for coming over," Chloe said softly, her eyes dropping to the brunette's lips. Beca reached up and tucked a strand of Chloe's hair behind her ear.

"Chloe, seriously, it's not a problem," she said. Her thumb brushed across the fading cut on her forehead. "Anytime you need anything, just call me. Okay?" Chloe nodded.

"No one's ever been this nice to me," Chloe said.

"It's what you deserve. You're amazing, Chlo'," Beca said before Chloe closed the gap between them, kissing the brunette.

"I've been thinking," Chloe said, a little breathless. Her eyes were closed and her forehead was resting against Beca's. "I want to go on that date with you."

"Yeah?" Beca said, pressing their lips together again. "I thought we were going to wait?"

"I'm done waiting. I feel like I've been waiting for you my whole life," Chloe said. "I don't want to waste anymore time."

"Me neither," Beca breathed, her face breaking into a grin.

* * *

They spent the next day at work giving each other shy glances and smiles.

"Urgh, will you two just get a room?" Stacie said, rolling her eyes at the girls.

"Wait, what?" Jesse asked, his confused expression matched Benji and Luke's.

"Thank you, Stacie," Beca muttered.

"You two are a thing? What about Tom?" Jesse asked.

"Tom and I broke up," Chloe said, her cheeks flushing slightly.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Jesse said.

"I'm not. He wasn't a nice guy, Jesse," Chloe said.

"So you're dating Beca now?" Benji asked, still confused.

"We're going on a date, yes," Beca said, wishing nothing more than for this conversation to be over. She shot an apologetic look at Chloe who just shook her head and smiled.

"Sorry about that, I didn't think," Stacie said once the boys had resumed their conversation.

"It's okay," Chloe said. "They were bound to find out eventually. And it means I can do this." She rested her hands on Beca's hips and then kissed her. Jesse and the boys began wolf-whistling.

"Oh god, Beca, not behind the bar, please," her dad said, walking in to see what the noise was.

"Sorry, dad," she said, grinning, her eyes never leaving Chloe's.

* * *

The next evening, the girls went on their date. Beca arrived at Chloe's house with a bunch of flowers. Chloe blushed slightly as she accepted them and took them inside. They walked the small distance to Beca's favourite restaurant, Chloe's arm linked with hers.

"You look beautiful," Beca said as they walked.

"So do you," Chloe replied, blushing again. They arrived at the restaurant and Beca held the chair our for Chloe. "Thank you," she said, grinning.

"You're welcome," Beca replied, taking a seat opposite. They ordered their food and fell into an easy conversation about anything and everything.

"How can you say Highschool Musical is your favourite movie?!" Beca said, her mouth hung open in disbelief.

"At least I have a favourite movie," Chloe pointed out. "I mean, I would at least pretend to like movies, if I was you. It would make you seem like less of a weirdo."

"Says the girl who thinks that Highschool Musical is the pinnacle of all cinematic experiences," Beca smirked.

"Don't be mean," Chloe said, unable to remove her grin. "So you really don't have a favourite? Like, not even when you were a kid?"

"I used to watch them with my mom a lot," Beca said, her voice a little softer.

"Which one did you like best?" Chloe asked, reaching across the table and taking Beca's hand in hers.

"I liked Pinocchio," she said after a few seconds of thinking. "I think I watched that one a lot."

"I love that film!" Chloe said, enthusiastically. Beca chuckled. "That scene with the boys and donkeys really freaked me out though. I used to have nightmares as a kid that I'd turn into one."

"Yeah, it's pretty dark," Beca agreed, smiling down at their still entwined hands. "So," Beca said after a small comfortable silence, "have you heard anything from Tom?" Chloe's grip involuntarily tightened around Beca's.

"No," Chloe said, her jaw clenched. "As far as I'm concerned he's fallen of the face of the Earth."

"That'd be nice," Beca said, smiling wistfully. Chloe giggled. "I had a lot of fun tonight," Beca said as they left the restaurant. Beca had insisted on paying.

"Me too," Chloe said, linking her arm with Beca's again. "Would you, maybe, want to do it again?"

"Abso-fucking-lutely I would," Beca said, unable to hide her enthusiasm for the idea. Chloe laughed again.

"You're a dork," she said, smiling fondly at the smaller girl.

"Only slightly," Beca replied. They arrived at Chloe's place and Beca kissed her at the door. It was only intended to be a goodnight kiss, but things escalated quickly between them. Soon they were inside the house and Chloe had Beca slammed against the closed front door. "Wait," Beca said, trying to focus against the Chloe-induced haze. "We should slow this down." Chloe stopped what she was doing. "We don't want to rush things."

"You're right," Chloe said after a few seconds silence. "Sorry, I got caught up."

"Don't apologise, it was awesome," Beca said, laughing.

"Thank you," Chloe said, smirking. "Come on, let's go to bed. You're staying here tonight."

"Oh I am, am I?" Beca asked, smirking herself.

"Of course," Chloe said, leading Beca to the bedroom.

"Bossy," Beca said, grinning as she kissed Chloe again.

"You love it," Chloe replied.

_I do_, Beca thought._ I really fucking do_.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the filler chapter, but shit is going down in the next one.**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Another massive thank you to everyone who's favourited/followed/reviewed/read! You're all awesome.**

**I do not own Pitch Perfect or any of its characters.**

* * *

"Tom, man, you're gonna have to move out," Tom's friend Michael said to him one morning. "I'm sorry, but you've slept on my sofa for a month now. It's driving Louise crazy."

"Don't worry, dude. I've got a plan to get Chloe back. I'll be out of your hair by the end of the week," Tom said, taking a swig of beer.

* * *

"Babe?" Chloe asked as Beca returned to the bar from her break. The corners of Beca's mouth twitched upwards into a smile.

"Yeah?" Beca said.

"Do you wanna go to the movies tonight with Stacie and Aubrey?"

"Yep, sounds good," Beca said, planting a quick kiss on the corner of her mouth. She turned around to find everyone staring at her, open-mouthed. "What?"

"You just agreed to go to the movies," Jesse said.

"Yeah?" Beca replied, confused.

"You, Beca Mitchell, just agreed to go and watch a movie," Aubrey said. "You. Beca Mitchell."

"Man, I don't know what Chloe's done to you but I like the new Beca," Jesse said, shaking his head slightly. Beca grinned slightly as she carried on cleaning the bar. Beca and Chloe had been dating for around a month and the change in the brunette had been a dramatic one, she had even quit smoking after one puppy-eyed look from Chloe.

"You look tired," Chloe said once everyone had resumed their conversation. "Are you not sleeping again?"

"It's no big deal," Beca said as she shrugged and gave the redhead a small smile.

"How long this time?" Chloe said, her hand resting on Beca's back.

"Just a couple of nights," Beca said, turning so Chloe's hand slid around to rest on her hip. "Like I said, it's no big deal."

"You wanna stay at my place tonight?" Chloe asked, grinning when Beca's eyes seemed to light up.

"Yes please," Beca said, biting her lip and smirking.

That night Beca was curled up in Chloe's bed, the redhead's arms wrapped around her waist.

"It's fun being the big spoon for once," Chloe said.

"Don't get used to it," Beca replied sleepily. "That movie was good."

"You slept through it," Chloe said, giggling.

"I know," Beca said, grinning as Chloe's breath tickled her neck.

"I've been thinking," Chloe said.

"A dangerous hobby,"

"Shut up," Chloe laughed. "I've been thinking, how would you feel about getting away for a weekend. My parents own this awesome secluded cabin up-state."

"Are you inviting me to a remote cabin in the woods? I'm sure that's how most horror movies start," Beca said, laughing.

"Well how else am I supposed to murder you?" Chloe said. Beca whacked her arm and wriggled around so she was facing her.

"You're a weirdo," Beca laughed.

"You love it," Chloe replied. "So how about it then?"

"Sounds great, I'll speak to my dad about getting us some time off tomorrow."

* * *

"You want the whole weekend off?" John Mitchell asked, leaning back in his office chair.

"Uh, yeah," Beca said. "And Friday and Monday. And Chloe too."

"You do realise that since I bought this place you haven't asked for a single holiday?" He asked.

"Yeah, I know, but I really think Chloe and I need this break. I think it'd be good for her to go and get away from this place for a bit," she said, chewing her lip nervously. "I know this is short notice but-"

"Beca," he said, cutting off her rambling. "Of course you can have the weekend off. In fact, finish up early on Thursday and you can start back on Tuesday evening. Sound good?"

"Thank you!" Beca said, trying her best not to squeal with excitement. John laughed lightly.

"You two are really good together. I'm really happy for you, Becs," he said.

"Thanks," Beca said, a little softer. "She's amazing."

* * *

"Okay, so I'm going to go and pack the rest of the stuff into the car," Chloe said, leaning across the bar and kissing Beca on the cheek.

"How can you not have everything packed? We're going for like four days, how much stuff do you need?" Beca asked, smirking at her girlfriend.

"I promise you, there's nothing in those bags you won't be glad I've packed," she said, winking.

"I'll stop complaining," Beca said, swallowing. Chloe giggled and kissed her again.

"I'll see you in an hour," she said before she left the bar.

"Somebody's in love," Stacie said, smirking at the dumbstruck look on Beca's face.

"Yep," Beca said, still staring at the door.

"Wait, what? For serious?" Aubrey asked, shocked.

"Pretty much, yeah," Beca said finally tearing her eyes away, grinning.

"And does she know?" Stacie asked.

"I was planning on saying it this weekend," Beca said. "Unless you think that's a bad move?"

"No!" Aubrey said. "That's an awesome move!" Beca chuckled.

"Thanks, 'Bree," she said. Her phone buzzed in her pocket.

**Chloe: Meet me at the Starbucks by my place? xxx**

Beca tapped out her reply and hit send.

**Beca: Sounds good :) xxx**

"Man, I wish I was going away," Cynthia Rose said. Cynthia Rose was Holden's other bouncer when Fat Amy wasn't working. "Denise has been banging on at me to take her on holiday."

"Well apparently my dad is giving out holidays like they're going out of fashion," Beca said, "so now's your chance to ask." Ashley came into the bar to take over from Beca. "Okay nerds, I am outta here!" Beca said, waving to the group as she left. She reached the alleyway outside the bar when she felt a hand clamp over her mouth. A second later and pain ripped through her stomach, her cry muffled.

"You ruined my fucking life," a gruff voice said. The voice could only belong to Tom. She could smell the whiskey on him. He pushed her to the ground. Blood was starting to seep through her clothes. Beca's eyes landed on the bloodied knife in his hand and she realised she had been stabbed. She reached into her pocket to pull out her phone but he beat her to it, snatching it from her hand. "I think I'll take this." He checked her recent messages. "Meeting her at Starbucks? Probably isn't going to happen now, is it? So when you stand her up, I'll be her sympathetic ear."

"No," Beca groaned, trying in vain to pull herself up. He placed his foot on her chest and kicked her back down.

"You stole my girlfriend, and now I'm going to get her back and there isn't a fucking thing you can do about it," he said, his face inches from hers.

"Fuck you," she said. He threw a punch at her but she managed to roll out of the way so his fist slammed into the pavement.

"Shit!" He shouted, cradling his fist. "Stupid bitch." He kicked her in ribs and she let out a groan of pain. "I guess I'll see you in hell." She watched as he ditched the knife in a trashcan, after wiping the hand, and left the alley. As the blood pooled around her, she finally gave in and closed her eyes.

* * *

**A/N: Cliffhanger! But seriously, I'm sorry :P**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: I feel like I should start this author's note with an evil laugh but I won't. (Oh well, maybe just a small one, *muahaha*)**

**Anyway, thank you for the reviews and what not and thank you for not hating me too much because of the last chapter's ending :P**

**I do not own Pitch Perfect or any of its characters.**

* * *

_**Beca was in bed with Chloe, their legs entwined as they lay tangled in the sheets. They didn't say anything, they just studied each other's faces. Beca's eyes raked over the tresses of ginger hair that fell over her face, the small scar on her forehead, the near invisible freckles on her nose and cheeks, the lips that were begging to be kissed.**_

_**"I love you," she said softly.**_

_**"I love you too," Chloe replied. "But you have to wake up, Beca."**_

_**"Wake up?" Beca asked, a dawning feeling of dread.**_

_**"Please," Chloe said, tears sparkling in her eyes. "Before it's too late." Beca moved her arm to brush the hair from Chloe's face and a surge of pain shot through her stomach. She moved the sheets and saw blood begin to spread from her stomach, soaking through her top and onto the bed.**_

With a groan Beca forced her eyes open. The alleyway swam into focus. It was dark but she could just make out the door to the bar where her friends were sitting, drinking, oblivious to what had happened. She wondered if Tom had gotten to Chloe yet, she wasn't sure how long she'd been out for. Gritting her teeth she managed to roll onto her stomach, cries of pain and curse words spewed from her mouth.

"Fuck," she breathed as her vision seemed to swim again. "Come on, Beca." She placed her hands flat beside her and tried to push herself up. She got a few inches before her arms gave way and she fell back onto the ground. She tried to shout for help but her voice was now no more than a croaky whisper. She tried again to push herself up but this time didn't even make it off the ground. With a defeated sob she rolled onto her side where the pain was considerably less and she waited, watching the pool of blood grow larger.

* * *

Chloe checked her phone for what seemed like the millionth time. Beca should have been here ten minutes ago. She tapped her foot impatiently as she drained the last drops of her coffee. Her phone buzzed against the table and she hurried to check it.

**Beca: Can't make it. Have 2 work. Sorry.**

A second later and someone sat in the chair opposite her. With confusion written across her face she looked up and saw Tom.

"What are you doing here?" Chloe asked, dropping her eyes back to her phone. _What did she mean she had to work?_ Chloe thought, annoyed. _And since when has Beca texted like that?_

"You looked like you were by yourself so I thought I'd keep you company," Tom said with a shrug.

"Well, don't," Chloe replied, relieved that the Starbucks was full of people so Tom wouldn't try anything. She called Beca's phone but it went straight to voicemail. Getting even more irritated, Chloe dialled Aubrey's number.

"Aren't you even going to look at me?" Tom asked, his temper rising.

"Why would I want to do that?" Chloe said.

"Aubrey Posen," Aubrey said upon answering it.

"Hey Aubrey, are you at the bar?" Chloe asked.

"Yep," Aubrey said, "let me guess, you and Beca forgot something?"

"What?" Chloe asked, confused. "Look, could I speak to her? I've tried calling her cell but it's off."

"Chloe, she left like fifteen minutes ago," Aubrey said. Chloe's mouth went dry and her stomach dropped.

"What?" Chloe said, her voice a whisper now.

"Her shift finished and she left," Aubrey said. Chloe looked at Tom now and noticed the broken skin on his knuckles. "Chloe? Are you still there?"

"I need you to check the alley by the bar," Chloe said slowly standing and moving away from Tom. His eyes widened.

"Why?" Aubrey asked, puzzled.

"I think... I think something's happened. Please just check," Chloe said, her voice shaking. "Tom, what did you do?" He stood and approached her. She saw a splash of blood on his clothes.

"Nothing," Tom said. "I didn't do anything, I swear."

"Oh my god!" She heard Aubrey shout on the end of the phone. "Chloe you have to get here now!" Aubrey hung up.

"What did you do?!" Chloe shouted.

"I... I took care of things," he said. "We can be together now without her interfering."

* * *

Confused by Chloe's sudden insistence that she check outside, Aubrey left the bar, dragging Jesse along with her. When she reached the alley way she couldn't see anything, and was about to tell Chloe when she heard a small whimper. She moved further into it and that's when she saw her. Curled up, looking tiny and pale.

"Jesse go and get the others," she said once she hung up the phone. He dialled 911 and rushed back into the bar. "Beca," Aubrey said, fighting to keep her voice steady and keep the threatening tidal wave of vomit at bay. She was crouched by the brunette's seemingly lifeless body. She pressed a shaky hand to her neck, breathing a sigh of relief when she felt a pulse. Not knowing what else to do she took of her sweater and balled it up before pressing it against the wound on her stomach. She heard the gasps and cries of the others as they arrived. "Someone needs to take over," Aubrey choked out. Stacie was there in seconds, applying the pressure so Aubrey could move away. The tall blonde managed a few steps before she threw up.

"Beca!" They turned to see Chloe standing frozen in horror. "No, no, no, no." Chloe said, dropping to her knees beside her. She moved the hair from Beca's forehead and cupped her face with her hand. "Please wake up, baby," she said softly. She kissed her forehead. "Come on, Beca. Please." Beca's brow furrowed.

"Come on, Becs," Stacie said, her voice shaking. She opened her eyes slowly and they locked onto Chloe's.

"Am I dead?" She mumbled.

"No," Chloe said, half crying, half laughing. "You'll be okay."

"It was Tom," Beca said, fighting the urge to close her eyes again.

"I know," Chloe said, kissing her forehead again. "I'm so sorry."

"Did he hurt you?" Beca asked, trying to lift her hand but finding herself unable to move. Chloe shook her head. "Good," she said, a content smile spreading across her face as her eyes closed again.

"Beca?" Chloe said as the smile slipped away. "Beca!" The paramedics arrived and Chloe was dragged away by Luke. She struggled against him but it made no difference. "Beca, for fucks sake, wake up!" She cried as he held her tight.

"God dammit," one of paramedics swore, "we're losing her. We have to take her in now." Chloe watched as he lifted Beca's tiny frame into the ambulance. She realised Luke was no longer holding her back so she rushed after them. "Are you coming with her?" He asked. Chloe nodded and he helped her into the back. The others watched as the doors slammed shut and the ambulance drove off.

"Someone has to call her dad," Stacie said, her voice quiet as she stared at the blood soaked sweater in her hands.

"I'll do it," Aubrey said, walking out of the alley and pulling out her phone. The few customers that had been in the bar were now milling around awkwardly outside.

"I'll close up," Ashley said, taking the keys from Stacie and heading back to the bar.

"What did she mean Tom did it?" Jesse asked, stunned. "Did she mean Chloe's ex?" Stacie nodded.

"He used to beat Chloe, until Beca stepped in and convinced her to break up with him," she said.

"Jesus," Luke sighed, ruffling his own hair. "If I ever see him again, I'll fucking kill him."

"He's on his way there now," Aubrey said, returning from her phone call.

"Once Ashley's finished locking up we should all get down there," Cynthia Rose said. "I'll call Amy on the way." They all mumbled their agreement, not sure what to do. Aubrey had moved over to Stacie who was still kneeling in Beca's blood. The tall brunette had started to cry.

"It's okay," Aubrey said softly. "Come on." She helped her stand and they all moved away from the alley.

Not long after they arrived at the hospital and soon found Chloe pacing outside of an operating room. John was sitting on a nearby plastic chair, his head in his hands.

"Is there any news?" Aubrey asked as the others all found seats either in chairs or on the floor. Chloe shook her head. Her eyes were red and she was twisting her hands together. They all sat for a long time, staring at the doors behind which, doctors were fighting to save Beca's life. Chloe gave up pacing eventually and sat on the floor, her head buried in her arms.

After a few hours a police officer found them and told them they had arrested Tom. Apparently they caught him trying to retrieve the knife he had left at the scene, and when they searched him they found Beca's phone in his possession. Chloe nodded numbly at the news but she didn't feel like justice had been carried out. The police officer handed it to Chloe.

"He confessed so we don't need it as evidence anymore," the officer said. Chloe nodded again. The phone was coated in blood so she meticulously cleaned it off with her sleeve until it looked almost new. She switched it on and saw the message that Tom must have sent, pretending to be her, and her blood boiled again.

After what felt like an eternity, a doctor walked through the doors and they all stood up, hearts in their mouths as they waited.

"She lost a lot of blood," he said. "And the knife did some serious damage which, thankfully we managed to repair."

"What are you saying?" Jesse asked. He seemed to be the only one able to form words.

"It was a close one but she's going to be okay," he said, finally smiling.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Okay, so I realise that I resolved the drama pretty quickly in the last chapter, so sorry about that. I think I just get too eager and struggle with keeping things hanging on :P I also realised that it would be highly unlikely for Beca to survive that injury but hey-ho, what's fiction without a little suspension of disbelief? If Rowling can have wizards, I can have an improbable survival :)**

**I do not own Pitch Perfect or any of its characters.**

* * *

Chloe was sitting outside Beca's room with the rest of the group waiting to go in, they had all agreed to let her dad go in first. Despite the good news, Chloe was still tense. Still clutching her hands together until her knuckles were white. Until she could actually see and speak to Beca, she wouldn't let herself believe that the tiny brunette would be okay.

While they waited, a tall dark-haired girl, around their age, in hospital scrubs approached them. Chloe didn't pay her any attention but everyone else seemed to tense around her.

"God, Aubrey. I've only just heard," the girl said. "Is she okay?" Chloe looked between the two.

"They said she's going to be fine," Aubrey said, casting a nervous glance to Stacie.

"I should go in there," the girl said, craning her neck to see inside the room.

"Uh, I don't think that's a good idea, Izzy," Stacie said, her jaw clenched slightly.

"Why not? I'm a nurse, they can't stop me. And anyway, I'm sure she'd want to see me," Izzy said, looking offended.

"Yeah, I'm not all that sure she would actually," Chloe said.

"Sorry, but who are you?" Izzy asked, casting a disparaging look at Chloe.

"I'm her girlfriend," Chloe responded.

"Her... Right... Okay..." Izzy said, sinking onto a chair. "I didn't realise she was seeing anyone. How long have you been together?"

"About a month," Chloe replied. Izzy seemed to brighten.

"Oh, well, no offence but we were together for a year and a half, so... You know..." Izzy said, standing back up and smoothing out her scrubs.

"And you fucked another girl in her bed. She told me all about it," Chloe replied, standing up too.

"That was a mistake," Izzy said, her conviction wavering. "I'm sure once we've talked she'll be willing to take me back."

"I highly doubt that," Chloe said, her anger rising.

"Seriously Izzy, you should just go," Stacie said.

"I'm not going anywhere," Izzy said defiantly. "I mean, come on, you've been together for a month, that's nothing. Beca and I have serious history. She loves me."

"She doesn't," Chloe said, tears burning her eyes.

"Has she said it to you yet?" Izzy said, eyebrows raised.

"N-no. Not yet," Chloe replied. Izzy smiled.

"She was going to say it this weekend," Aubrey said, unable to stand the hurt look on Chloe's face. "She told me." Chloe turned to Aubrey and her face broke into a grin.

"Whatever," Izzy said. "Why don't we just ask her what she wants?"

"Are you fucking for real right now?" Chloe said, her voice getting louder. "She's just been stabbed! She almost died and you want to barge in there and ask her who she'd rather be with? What is wrong with you?!"

"Beca and I are meant to be together!" Izzy responded, just as loud. John Mitchell left his daughter's room and saw the two girls staring daggers at each other. "John," Izzy said, sounding relieved. "Can I see Beca, please?"

"I don't think she'd want to see you," he said. "Chloe, she's asking for you." Chloe left the furious looking Izzy without another word and entered the room. Beca looked tiny and pale and exhausted but she gave a weak smile when the redhead entered.

"Hey you," Chloe said, taking a seat beside her and taking her hand. "You scared the shit out of me."

"I won't do it again," Beca replied, her voice a little hoarse and quiet.

"How are you feeling?" Chloe asked.

"Like someone stuck a knife in my stomach," she said, grinning. "But also, kinda like I'm on a cloud."

"That'll be the morphine," Chloe said, laughing.

"It's awesome. We should get some for our trip," she said.

"We'll probably have to postpone our trip," Chloe said. "I'm so sorry that he did this to you, Beca." Chloe's eyes filled with tears again.

"It's not your fault," Beca said, squeezing her hand. "My dad said he's been arrested. So now we don't have to worry about him anymore."

"Yeah, he can't hurt us now," she said, kissing the brunette's knuckles. After a few minutes there was a timid knock on the door and Stacie and Aubrey came in, both of them still covered in Beca's blood.

"Haven't any of you been home?" She asked, laughing at the three girls' dishevelled appearance. They all laughed and shook their head.

"Cynth', Amy and the boys were here but they had to leave. They said they'd be back later," Aubrey said, taking a seat on Beca's other side with Stacie. "You fucking scared me, Mitchell."

"I've already been reprimanded for that," Beca said.

"Yeah, well, just make sure you don't do it again," Stacie said, laughing.

"I promise, I will do my very best to avoid near-death situations from this moment on," Beca said, grinning as another wave of morphine seemed to wash through her. "Opiates rule," she said, sleepily. The others laughed.

"We should probably let you get some rest," Aubrey said, standing up with Stacie. Chloe nodded and went to stand too until she felt Beca's hand tighten around hers.

"Stay," she said softly, before falling asleep.

* * *

Chloe had fallen asleep in the chair beside Beca when the door opened again. Izzy walked in and surveyed the scene before her. Both girls were sleeping, their hands linked and resting on the bed. Izzy sat at Beca's other side and slowly brushed a strand of hair from the brunette's face. Beca stirred slightly and she withdrew her hand. After a few more minutes she reached over and took Beca's other hand, running her thumb across the back of it. Beca opened her eyes groggily and turned to see Izzy sitting there.

"What... what the fuck are you doing?" She said, pulling her hand from the other girl's grasp. Chloe woke up.

"I just wanted to see you," Izzy said, softly. "They wouldn't let me before."

"Maybe because you're a cheating bitch and they knew I wouldn't want to see you," Beca said, feeling a confusing combination of blood-boiling anger and overwhelming exhaustion. "I need you to get out, now."

"Beca," she said, trying to take her hand again.

"Get. Out," Beca said, through gritted teeth.

"Baby, calm down," Chloe said gently. "You'll hurt yourself."

"I'm not going anywhere," Izzy said, defiant. "I know you love me, Beca."

"Leave or I'll make you leave," Chloe said, her voice hard.

"Beca, tell her that it's me you want," Izzy said.

"Jesus, you don't get it, do you?" Beca said, trying to breathe through the pain that had been increasing. "I hate you. I really, really fucking hate you. You know that after you left I didn't sleep in my bed for six months? Six months of lying on the sofa, staring up at the ceiling and wondering why you would do this to me." She took another shaky breath and squeezed her eyes shut.

"Becs," Chloe said, her voice filled with concern. "Take it easy."

"Six months," Beca carried on, "of misery and confusion. Of too much drinking and not enough sleeping. Six months of feeling more alone than I ever had in my life." Beca's screwed up features relaxed as the pain meds finally kicked in. "Then," she said, her voice free of anger, "then out of nowhere, Chloe arrived. And in the month we've been together, she made me realise what love really feels like. Because it turns out, I never loved you Izzy. Not like I love Chloe. So if you think that you can just bat your eyes and I'll come running, then you don't know me." Beca turned to face Chloe, who had tears streaming from her eyes. "I love you, Chlo'."

"I love you too," Chloe replied.

"Fuck you," Izzy said, her voice a whisper.

"Fuck you too," Beca said, her eyes never leaving Chloe's as she stormed from the room.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: I don't know why I do an author's note before every chapter, I just feel like I have to thank you all for being so amazing. Like, every time I get a little email saying I have a new follower or favouriter or a new review I get a stupid grin on my face and I like having that stupid grin. So thank you :)**

**Also, in reply to your reviews, yes. Izzy is a massive bitch :P**

**I do not own Pitch Perfect or any of its characters.**

* * *

Chloe spent nearly every minute of the next few days at the brunette's bedside. By day four, Beca was beginning to go stir crazy.

"I'm so bored," she moaned, as they played blackjack. She tossed her cards onto the bed. "Can't we go out?"

"You're under strict instructions to rest," Chloe said, smirking as Beca huffed. "But I promise as soon as you're allowed out we'll go on our trip."

"I want to go now," Beca pouted. Chloe giggled at her.

"You're adorable," she said, gathering up the cards and shuffling them. Beca rolled her eyes and tried to adjust her position in the bed, wincing as she pulled on her stitches. "Okay?" Beca nodded, closing her eyes momentarily as she waited for the pain to pass.

"Fine," she said, eventually, letting out a shaky breath. "So tell me what's new with you?"

"Uh," Chloe said, biting her lip as she thought. "Well considering I spent 99% of my time here, I'm gonna say not much." Beca laughed.

"Come on, tell me something. These last few days have been about nothing else but me, I wanna hear what's going on with you," Beca said. Chloe grinned.

"I've been thinking about moving to a smaller place," Chloe said after a few seconds of thinking.

"How come?" Beca asked.

"I can't really afford the rent and it's too big to be living there by myself. Plus there are, you know, bad memories," she said, nervously fiddling with the cards in her hands. "It'd be nice to live in a place where I'm not surrounded by reminders of that asshole."

"Yeah, I can imagine," Beca said, reaching over and taking Chloe's hand. "Why don't you stay with me until you find a place? That way you don't have to be there any longer than necessary. That is, assuming I'll actually get out of here any time soon," she added with a laugh.

"Are you sure?" Chloe asked.

"Of course. I'd love for you to stay," Beca said, her thumb brushing across Chloe's hand. "Only if you want to, that is."

"I'd love to Beca," she said, her face breaking into a smile. "Thank you." She leaned across the bed and kissed her. As soon as their lips connected, the door opened and Izzy entered.

"Sorry," she muttered, standing awkwardly.

"What do you want?" Beca said with a sigh.

"I'm covering for a friend. I need to change your dressing," she said, looking frankly annoyed by the whole situation.

"Great," Beca mumbled, rolling her eyes as she sifted her position and lifted up her top.

"You'll have to wait outside," Izzy said to Chloe.

"Why?" Beca responded. "She's never had to wait outside before."

"Well she should have," Izzy said, irritated. "Hospital protocol."

"Bullshit," Beca said.

"Becs, it's fine. I'll go and grab us some dinner," Chloe said, kissing her on the cheek. She left the room and Izzy moved to Beca's side.

"She's pretty," Izzy said, after an uncomfortable silence.

"She is," Beca responded, wincing as Izzy was a little heavy-handed with her dressing.

"I heard it was her ex-boyfriend who did this to you," she said.

"That's right," Beca said, clenching her jaw against the pain. "Jesus, don't they train nurses any more? Take it easy will you."

"Sorry," Izzy said. "It's just... This is hard for me, you know? To come into the place where I work and see the girl I'm in love with kissing someone else."

"If you were so in love with me you wouldn't have cheated, Iz," Beca said, not feeling any sympathy for the girl. "But if it makes you feel better, just stay away from my room."

"I'm doing my job, Beca," Izzy sighed. "And I apologised a million times for that."

"And I forgave you," Beca said. "But I still don't want you back."

"I don't get it," she said as she finished re-applying the dressing. "This girl's ex stabs you in the stomach, almost killing you, and you still want to be with her. Aren't you like shit scared he'll come after you again? Is she really worth that kind of fear?"

"You're right," Beca said with a sigh. "You don't get it. I love her. I'd take a fucking million knives in the stomach for her. Of course I'm scared, but I'm more scared that she'll get hurt. And if she's with me, I can protect her." Izzy was silent for a few seconds. "Are you done?"

"Yeah," Izzy said, softly. "Sorry. Just," she hesitated, "just don't make my mistake, okay? Don't ruin this with her."

"I don't intend to," Beca replied. Izzy left and a second later, Chloe re-entered, carrying a large pizza box. "I love you so much," Beca said, practically drooling.

"Are you talking to me or the pizza?" Chloe laughed.

"The pizza, obviously," Beca said, smirking. She shuffled across the bed, trying to hide the pain it caused her. and patted the space she had just created.

"I don't know if I should," Chloe said, eyeing the door nervously.

"You will never hear me say this again, so make the most of it," Beca said. "But I'd like it if we cuddled and watched a movie." Chloe laughed and kicked off her shoes before climbing onto the bed beside Beca. The brunette opened her laptop and started up Netflix, telling Chloe to pick what she wanted, as she opened the pizza box and took her first slice. "Mother of all that is holy, this is the food of the gods."

"You're a weirdo," Chloe said, giggling. She put her arm around Beca's shoulders and Beca curled into her side. After they finished the pizza, it didn't take long for Beca to fall asleep, the steady rhythm of Chloe's heart relaxing her.

* * *

A few days later and Beca was finally allowed home. She returned to her apartment to find that most of Chloe's stuff had been shoved into the spare room.

"I hope this is okay," Chloe said, nervously when she showed Beca.

"Of course it is!" Beca said, brightly. "I mean, that room didn't even have a bed in it, it makes sense to keep it in there for now."

"No," Chloe said, "I mean, I hope it's okay with me just like, crashing here. I know we talked about it but we never like discussed a date and I didn't want to be presumptuous, but it didn't really make any sense for m-" Beca pressed her lips against Chloe's, cutting off her ramblings.

"It's okay," Beca said softly, her hands running down Chloe's arms. "You don't have to be so nervous about this kind of thing."

"Sorry," Chloe said, giving a shaky laugh and a forced smile. It dawned on Beca why Chloe would be so nervous, and she kicked herself for it.

"Hey," she said, her voice even softer than before. She brought her hand up to cup Chloe's cheek, her thumb brushing across the space where there was probably once a bruise. "I am never, ever going to hurt you like he did, okay?" Chloe nodded, tears in her eyes. "I'd like to say I'd never hurt you, but I'm a human. And humans have the innate ability to fuck things up. But I promise I will never willingly hurt you. I will never lay my hands on you and I will never say words to you that make you feel less than what you are. I promise." Chloe closed her eyes, forcing the tears to spill over before she nodded again. "Please, don't ever be scared of me."

"I won't," Chloe said, as Beca pulled her into her arms, not caring that pain rippled from her stomach as she gripped the redhead tightly. "I love you."

"I love you too."


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Hey lovelies, in response to a couple of reviews I have just a quick message. I don't know how many chapters are left, I'm kind of playing this one by ear but I'd say we were over halfway through. Also, don't worry, the drama isn't over :)**

**I do not own Pitch Perfect or any of its characters.**

* * *

After a few days of Beca being home, Chloe began spotting signs that maybe the brunette wasn't as okay as she was pretending to be. It started off small. Because of the painkillers Beca was on, she no longer had any trouble sleeping. So one night, when Beca was out like a light, Chloe untangled herself from her arms and went to read in the living room, not wanting the light to disturb her. About ten minutes later and Beca sleepily wandered out of the bedroom, letting out a subtle sigh of relief when she spotted the redhead on the sofa.

"Hey," Chloe said as Beca came and curled up beside her. "Everything good?" Beca nodded, closing her eyes and listening to the steady rhythm of Chloe's heart.

"I had a dream and then I woke up and you weren't there," Beca mumbled.

"Sorry, Becs," Chloe said, putting down her book so she could run her hands through Beca's hair. "I didn't want to wake you with the light."

"You wouldn't have," Beca said, "but it's okay. It was just a dumb dream and I got a little freaked." She let out a yawn. "I'm fine."

"You wanna go back to bed?" Chloe asked. She nodded.

"You can still read," Beca said as Chloe took her back to bed and climbed in beside her.

"Just let me know if the light is bugging you," Chloe said, but she got no response. Beca was already asleep.

That was Chloe's first sign that Beca was struggling being by herself. It dawned on her that since the incident, she hadn't been alone for more than a few moments.

A few days late and Chloe was working the late shift at the bar. Beca finished a couple of hours before but was still sitting by the bar, drinking coke and eating peanuts.

"You don't have to wait for me," Chloe said, wiping up the spilled alcohol on the bar.

"I know," Beca replied, happily. "I'd only be bored at home, so I might as well be here."

"Weirdo," Chloe said, smirking.

"Don't pretend you don't love it, Beale," Beca said, grinning. When it came time to lock up, Beca waited for Chloe outside of the bar, her heart beating uncomfortably as she eyed the alley. Chloe emerged from it a few minutes later and Beca let out the breath she didn't even realise she was holding. She held out her hand for the redhead to take and they walked back to Beca's place, not saying a word.

The next night, it was Beca's turn to do the late shift. Everyone offered to switch with her but she declined. She knew she'd have to get used to locking up on her own if she was ever going to get back to normal. Chloe had left at the end of her shift. There was an apartment she had to look at and the she promised to cook Beca her favourite meal. The thought of Chloe moving out into her own place made her both sad and anxious, but they hadn't really been together long enough for Beca to ask Chloe to fully move in with her. At least that's what she thought, anyway.

The last customers stumbled out of the bar and, after cleaning up the tables, Ashley waved her goodbye. She switched off the music from the laptop and the bar was suddenly, completely silent. It was so quiet Beca could hear the blood pounding in her ears. She cleared her throat and began locking the windows and the door of the bar. A creak came from the back room and Beca froze, holding her breath. She knew she needed to walk that way to get out but she couldn't. She physically couldn't move her legs in that direction. She screwed up her eyes and forced herself to take calming breaths but a second creak sent her heart racing again. She was stuck. She hadn't felt so powerless since she was attacked and she watched her own blood leak out of her without being able to stop it. Her phone buzzed in her pocket and she let out a small scream. Chloe was calling her.

"Hey," Beca said, answering. She had never heard her voice shake so much when uttering one word.

"Beca? What's going on? You should be home by now," Chloe said, her voice heavy with concern. Beca could hardly blame her. The last time Beca was late meeting her, she was lying almost dead in an alley.

"I... I, uh, I'm having some trouble," Beca said. "I can't leave, Chlo'."

"What do you mean?" Chloe asked.

"I-I dunno. It's like I'm stuck. I'm... I'm freaking out," her voice was little more than a whisper.

"Okay," Chloe said. Beca could hear the sound of movement from the other end of the phone. "I'm coming to get you." Beca wanted to tell her that it wasn't necessary, but she knew that was bullshit.

"Thank you," Beca said, a small sob escaping her.

"It's okay, Becs. You're okay," Chloe said, soothingly.

"I'll unlock the front door for you," Beca said, forcing herself to move from her spot. "Don't use the alley."

"Okay. I'll be outside in a few minutes. Just... Hang on, okay?" Chloe said, her pace quickening. Not long after and Chloe opened the door of the bar, finding Beca sitting in a booth in the almost darkness. She was pressed into a corner, the back of the booth against the back wall of the bar. "It's just me," Chloe said when the brunette visably tensed as she heard the door open. She sat beside Beca and took her hand. "What happened?"

"It's so stupid," Beca said, her fear practically dissipating as the redhead sat beside her. "I was locking up and I heard a creak coming from the back. I mean, it's an old bar, it creaks all the time. I'm sorry I dragged you out."

"Don't apologise," Chloe said, squeezing her hand. "Don't ever apologise for being scared. It's perfectly understandable that you would freak out. It's the first time you've been totally by yourself since it happened. I would freak out too."

"Thank you," Beca said, softly. They sat in silence for a few more minutes. "How was the apartment?"

"It sucked," Chloe replied, laughing lightly. "So I'm afraid you're stuck with me for a few more weeks probably."

"I don't know what I'd do without you," Beca replied, her voice quiet and soft and sincere.

"You know," Chloe said, her eyes fixed on their hands, "I don't have to move out right away." Beca looked at her. "I could stay," she was chewing her lip nervously between words, "until you're better, that is."

"I'd like it if you stayed," Beca said, smiling for the first time in hours. "Shit, I'd like it if you stayed forever," she added with a laugh.

"Was that a serious invitation, Beca?" Chloe asked, looking at her now.

"Of course," Beca replied, smiling at the almost hopeful look in Chloe's eyes. "I mean, this might be a bit soon. But it feels right."

"It does," Chloe said, kissing Beca softly. "Come on, let's go home." They locked up the bar and cautiously made their way into the back and then into the alley. Beca's hand never leaving Chloe's as the redhead whispered reassurance to her.

After arriving home without incident, they sat, cuddled up together on the sofa.

"Things will be okay, won't they?" Beca asked after a long, comfortable silence.

"What do you mean?" Chloe replied.

"I'll go back to how I was, won't I? Like, I don't want to be scared forever," she said.

"It just takes time, Becs," Chloe said. "I mean, look at me. A month ago and I would jump at every loud noise and was constantly afraid of messing up. I'm not exactly how I used to be, although, to be honest I don't really remember what that was like, but I'm getting better. You just have to give it time."

"Yeah," Beca said, knowing there was more of this conversation to be had, but feeling too tired to continue.

"Bed time," Chloe said, reading Beca's mind.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Sorry for not updating last night (I suck) but I was in a bad mood and I didn't much feel like writing. But I'm back now so yay! **

**I do not own Pitch Perfect or any of its characters.**

* * *

"Becs?" Chloe said, drawing out her voice in a way that let Beca know that she wanted something.

"What?" Beca replied, her eyebrows raised skeptically.

"That was my mom on the phone," she said. "She and dad are coming into town."

"Okay..." Beca said, sensing where this was going.

"They want to have dinner with us," Chloe said, chewing her lip.

"And you're nervous about this why?" Beca asked, laughing.

"Because I thought you'd say no," she said, laughing slightly. "Tom was never one for family dinners."

"I'm not Tom," Beca said, placing her hands on the redhead's hips.

"I know," Chloe said, grinning. "So you're cool with meeting them?"

"As long as they're cool with meeting me," Beca replied. "They're know you're with a girl, right?"

"Yeah," Chloe said with a laugh. "They're just glad I'm done with Tom, I think."

"Did they know what he was like?" Beca asked, raising her eyebrows. Chloe shook her head.

"They just thought he was a bit of a dick," Chloe replied. "So how does tomorrow night sound?"

"Great," Beca said, pecking her on the lips before moving away.

* * *

The next night, Beca and Chloe walked hand-in-hand towards the restaurant they were meeting Chloe's parents in.

"Nervous?" Chloe asked, as they neared it.

"A little," Beca admitted. "What if they don't like me?"

"They'll love you," Chloe said, squeezing her hand.

"People tend not to like me," Beca said. "I mean, did you like me when we first met?"

"Hmm, like may be a strong word," she said, giggling at the brunette. "I was definitely intrigued by you, but you were a bit, you know, sulky." Beca tried her best to hide her currently sulky face. "But I love you now!"

"Oh great, because this dinner's going to last for a few months," Beca said, rolling her eyes.

"Look, when we first met you were-"

"An asshole?" Beca said, finishing the redhead's sentence.

"No, just a bit... closed off," she said, chosing her words. "But you're much better now. And I know they'll love you, so stop stressing."

"Fine," Beca mumbled, and they walked through the door of the restaurant.

"Chloe!" A woman almost squealed as they approached the table. The woman could only be Chloe's mother. They had perfectly matching red hair and blue eyes and the same infectious smile.

"Mom!" Chloe said back, squeezing her into a hug. The man, who must have been her dad, stood up and hugged her too. "Hey dad," she said, much softer. "Mom, dad, this is Beca."

"Hi," Beca said, giving a nervous wave. A second later and the older Beale woman had her pulled into a tight hug. Beca responded hesitantly. Chloe's dad shook her hand once she had been released.

"Nice to meet you Beca," Mrs. Beale said. "I'm Elaine, and this is Joeseph."

"Nice to meet you both," Beca said, still a little dishevelled from what she could only describe as an attack hug. They all sat down again and ordered their food.

"So Beca, Chloe tells me you work in the same bar as her?" Elaine said, once the waiter had left.

"Yeah," Beca replied. "It's actually my dad's place. He bought it about five years ago and I started working there when I was 21."

"You didn't go to college?" Joseph asked.

"No sir," Beca said, nervously taking a sip of water. "My dad tried to push for it but I couldn't find a subject that interested me enough to justify paying all that money." There was a pause while Joseph seemed to asses her.

"She called me sir," he said, turning to Elaine, "I like her already." Beca let out a shaky laugh. They talked about nothing while they ate. Once the plates had been cleared away, the conversation seemed to move onto Tom.

"So how come things didn't work out between you?" Elaine asked. "I mean, obviously we're both very glad you have Beca instead," she said, winking at Beca, "but we were just wondering what happened." Chloe gave Beca a nervous glance and Beca reached for her hand under the table and squeezed it.

"He wasn't... He wasn't a very nice guy," Chloe said, looking down slightly. "Beca helped me see that." Her parents seemed to get what she was trying to say and a silence fell across the table.

"Well," Joseph said eventually, "thank you, Beca."

"Your parents are nice," Beca said as they walked back from the restaurant.

"They loved you," Chloe said, grinning.

"I'm pretty loveable," Beca replied. She stopped walking and pulled Chloe into a heated kiss. Chloe giggled and kissed her again. They broke apart at the sound of a beeping car.

"Not in the street!" Elaine shouted from the car window as it drove past.

"We should hurry home then," Beca said, her voice low.

"Okay," Chloe said, biting her lip. "But remember we have to get up early tomorrow so you can get your stitches out."

"Don't ruin the mood," Beca said, and Chloe giggled before grabbing Beca's hand and running back to the apartment.

* * *

"Beca, quit sulking and get dressed," Chloe sighed the next morning, tossing the brunette's clothes onto the bed.

"I'm not sulking," she mumbled, burying her face in her pillow. "I'm sleeping."

"Fine, then quit sleeping and get dressed."

"I don't wanna," she groaned.

"We're going to be late," Chloe said, pulling the sheets off Beca.

"Good," Beca said, trying to pull them back.

"So are your stitches just going to take themselves out?" Chloe said, half smirking at her girlfriend's pathetic attempts at trying to wrap the sheets around her.

"They'll just have to stay in there," Beca said.

"Great idea," Chloe sighed again. "Please, Becs." Chloe pouted and Beca groaned.

"That's not fair," she muttered, rolling out of bed and shoving her clothes on. Chloe grinned.

"I'll take you out for some lunch once it's over, okay?"

"'Kay," Beca mumbled, still trying to scowl.

They arrived at the hospital with a few minutes to spare. They sat in the waiting room for about twenty minutes until Beca's name was finally called. She groaned when she saw Izzy in the cubicle.

"I'm not happy about this either, so just sit down and lift your shirt up," Izzy said with an eye-roll. Chloe bit back her response and helped Beca up onto the bed. Beca averted her eyes as she lifted her top. "Okay, let's do this." Beca winced as Izzy slowly began removing the stitches. She gripped Chloe's hand and squeezed it. "Okay, done."

"That was it?" Beca asked, opening her eyes and looking down.

"Yep," Izzy said pulling of her gloves.

"I told you it would be fine," Chloe said, giggling at Beca's surprise.

"Right, just give me two seconds to grab a form you need to sign and you can get out of here," Izzy said. She left the cubicle and pulled the curtains shut behind her.

"Sorry I was a pain in the butt this morning," Beca said, draping her arms around Chloe's shoulders as the redhead moved to stand in front of her.

"That's okay," Chloe said, grinning. "You're a pain in the butt every morning."

"I am not," Beca said, smirking.

"Are too," Chloe replied. Her thumb brushed across Beca's hip, skimming the edge of her scar. She felt Beca tense beneath her. "Okay?" Beca nodded and smiled. "Does it still hurt?"

"Not really," Beca replied. Izzy returned with the form, a look of shock on her face.

"Beca, what was your step-dad's name again?" She asked, once Beca had signed the form. Beca's eyes shot up and she visible paled.

"What?" She said, her voice barely a whisper.

"What's his name?" Izzy asked.

"Frank Turner," Beca replied. "Why?"

"He... He just got brought in," she said. "He got stabbed in the prison."


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Hey there kiddos. Sorry this is a bit late again, but I was in a crappy mood again and I find it hard to write when I get those moods. But hey ho, here's the chapter anyway, and I may have filled it with fluff :P**

**I do not own Pitch Perfect or any of its characters.**

* * *

"He's... He's here?" Beca asked, getting paler still. Izzy nodded. "I'm gonna be sick." Beca stumbled from the bed and managed to get to a trash-can before throwing up.

"Deep breaths, Becs," Chloe said, rubbing her back gently.

"Can I see him?" Beca asked, looking up at Izzy.

"Becs, I don't think that's a good idea," Chloe said.

"Yeah, I actually agree with Chloe on this one," Izzy said, earning a half scowl from the redhead.

"Please," Beca said, wiping her mouth on her sleeve. "I just... I need to see if it's true."

"Beca I could lose my job," Izzy said, running a hand through her hair.

"Look, just point us in the right direction. We won't let anyone know you told us," Chloe said, knowing Beca wasn't about to let this rest. Izzy sighed.

"Fine," she looked around briefly, "go down that corridor and take a right. Just look for the cops."

"Thank you," Beca said and she led Chloe down the corridor. They were waylaid by the arrival of a man, struggling and screaming on a trolley. He was surrounded by police officers.

"Out of the way, ladies!" A doctor said as they wheeled him through. Beca locked eyes with the man. The milky blue eyes that tainted her childhood and haunted her dreams for years later. His once thick black hair was now grey and grizzled and there was a thick scar running from the corner of his eye to the corner of his mouth. Beca watched him as realisation dawned on his face.

"That's him," Beca said, backing away from him. His mouth seemed to form her name before she started running.

"Beca," Chloe said, chasing after her.

"Chloe, I need to get out of here," Beca said, panicked as Chloe approached her.

"Okay," Chloe said softly. "Okay, let's go home."

Fifteen minutes later and they were back in their apartment. Chloe made them both a cup of tea and then sat down on the sofa beside Beca.

"Okay?" Chloe asked.

"I don't know," Beca said, her head dropping into her hands. "He looked so old."

"Come here." Chloe opened her arms and Beca rested her head on the redhead's chest as she wrapped her arm around Beca's shoulder. "Whatever you're feeling right now, whether you want him to live or die, it's understandable."

"He killed my mom and ruined practically my whole childhood, but the thought of him dying like that... I dunno, it doesn't seem like justice will have been done, you know? I mean, if he dies, then he get's to forget about what he did to her. And that's just... Just unacceptable," Beca said.

"I know," Chloe said, kissing her forehead.

"He recognised me," Beca said after a silence.

"He can't hurt you, Becs," Chloe said, squeezing her. "I won't let him."

Beca didn't sleep that night, so neither did Chloe. They stayed up all night, talking about anything and everything.

"Do you ever think about the future?" Chloe asked at around three in the morning. Beca had just arrived back to bed carrying two mugs of hot chocolate.

"Uh, yeah I guess so," Beca said as Chloe propped herself up on pillows and took the mug from her. "Do you?"

"Yeah," Chloe said. "What do you think about?"

"Mostly about moving to L.A. so I can give the whole music making thing a proper go," she said, sipping her drink, "but lately I've been thinking about... About my future with you."

"Yeah?" Chloe said, grinning. "What kind of things?"

"How I might propose," she said, her exhaustion removing her inhibitions. "Whether we'd have kids, and if we did would we adopt or would we use a sperm donor. Where we'd live. Those kind of things." She ruffled her hair nervously. "Do you think about that stuff?"

"All the time," Chloe said softly, setting her mug on the bedside table. Beca did the same and the redhead pulled her into her arms. "But what makes you think you get to propose?" Beca chuckled.

"So... So what I said didn't freak you out?" Beca said.

"God no," Chloe said. "I never thought about this stuff with Tom. And I know we haven't been together long but it feels right."

"Yeah, it does," Beca said, kissing Chloe softly. "I never thought I'd want marriage or kids. Not even when I was with Izzy. But I want those things with you. I want a future with you," Beca said, laughing. "God that sounded so queer-balls, what is happening to me?"

"I like it," Chloe said, laughing too. "Even if it is cheesy as hell." Beca kissed her again. "So, was he always bad to your mom?" Chloe said after a while. Beca shook her head.

"He was nice at first," she said. "Then one day my mom must have done something to piss him off and he hit her."

"Let me guess," Chloe said, sadly, "he apologised with flowers and tears and she forgave him?"

"Yeah," Beca said, brushing her thumb across Chloe's cheekbone. "How long had you been with Tom when he hit you the first time?"

"Uh, two years I think. I was eighteen and I was late for a date. He waited until we got home and he started freaking out," she said, her eyes brimming with tears. "God, I'm so glad I found you."

"Me too," Beca said, softly. "You're the best thing that's ever happened to me."

"So cheesy," Chloe said, grinning sleepily. "Do you think you can sleep now?"

"Sure," Beca said, running her hand through Chloe's hair.

"Awesome," Chloe said, yawning. The redhead was asleep seconds later. Beca rolled over and stared up at the ceiling, knowing she'd never sleep. Her head was still full of milky blue eyes and grizzled grey hair.

"You didn't sleep did you?" Chloe asked when she woke up a few hours later. Beca shook her head. "Becs."

"I'm fine," Beca mumbled. "Do you want some breakfast?" She sat up and was immediately pulled back down by Chloe.

"No, I want you to go to sleep," she said, wrapping her arms around Beca.

"I'm not tired," Beca said, yawning immediately after.

"I totally believe you," Chloe said, pressing gentle kisses to the back of Beca's neck.

"I don't... I don't want to dream about him," Beca said eventually.

"I know, baby," Chloe said. "But you're still recovering and you need to go to sleep. I'll be here the whole time."

"Promise you won't leave?" Beca said, sounding almost child-like.

"I promise," Chloe said.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: I know, I know. I suck, I'm sorry. This was supposed to be out on Wednesday but I've been so tired these past couple of days that I've been asleep before midnight (which doesn't happen very often!) So I'm super sorry that this took longer than it should, but I hope it was worth the wait.**

**I do not own Pitch Perfect or any of its characters.**

* * *

_**"Beca, go back to bed, sweetie," her mom said, pushing the girl back with her arm.**_

_**"Why don't you just go away?" Beca asked him, crying.**_

_**"Emily, will you get the kid out of here?" Frank said, stepping towards them.**_

_**"If I go, you'll hit her," Beca said, trying to stay defiant.**_

_**"Would you rather watch, then?" He said.**_

"Beca," Chloe said, pulling Beca out of her dream. She opened her eyes and smiled gratefully at the redhead.

"Thanks," Beca said, sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

"Becs, Izzy just phoned from the hospital," Chloe said chewing her lip.

"Right," Beca said, a knowing feeling dawning on her. "He died, didn't he?"

"Uh, no Beca. He didn't. Apparently he's asked to see you," Chloe said.

* * *

They were sitting in the parking lot of the hospital. Beca was chewing her nails, staring at the building where the man who murdered her mother was waiting to see her.

"Beca, you don't have to do this," Chloe said. "You don't have to see him."

"I do," she said, opening the car door and heading for the hospital. Chloe followed her, linking their hands.

A few minutes later and they were standing outside his door, Chloe squeezed her hand.

"I'll be right outside," she said. Beca pushed the door open. It took a few seconds for his eyes to focus, but when they did, they locked onto Beca's and a smile crept across his face.

"Rebecca," he said, his voice the low growl that still made her feel as sick and terrified as she did when she was ten.

"Frank," Beca replied, fighting to keep her voice free of fear. "You look like shit." He gave a raspy laugh.

"Thanks," he said. "You look great. Who's that pretty ginger you're with?"

"Chloe," she said, still not moving any closer, "she's my girlfriend."

"Girlfriend?" His eyes widened for a second before returning to normal. "I wonder what your mom would have said about that."

"Well, thanks to you, I'll never know," she said. He didn't speak for a minute or so. He just watched her. "Why did you want to see me?" He shrugged. Or at least as close to shrugging as you could get when you were lying, handcuffed to a bed.

"Why did you agree to see me?" He asked.

"I don't know," Beca replied. "I guess I needed to see you broken. Broken and in pain. You've been this figure, this presence in my nightmares since I was a kid. I needed to see that you're just an old man."

"I'm not old," he said, a smile still on his face. "Am I broken enough for you?"

"No," Beca replied. "Did it hurt?" She nodded towards his bandaged torso.

"Yeah," he said.

"What did they use?"

"A toothbrush they'd filed down," he said and Beca snorted. "You think it's funny?" He said, still smirking.

"You got stabbed by a toothbrush? That's cute," she said. She lifted the edge of shirt, showing off the thick three-inch scar on her stomach. "I mean, I got stabbed with an actual knife but a toothbrush? Wow."

"Who did that to you?" He asked, the amusement gone from his voice.

"Why? So you can shake their hand when you get back to prison?" Beca asked, rolling her eyes. He shook his head, almost sadly.

"You think I'm this monster," he said. It wasn't a question, but Beca still felt like she had to answer.

"You are," she said. "Except that now I can see you're weak, and old, and you can't hurt me anymore."

"You keep calling me old," he said, his smirk back in place.

"I think we're done here," Beca said turning away.

"I'm sorry," he said, as her hand touched the handle. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry. I never meant to kill her."

"I know," Beca said, still facing the door. "But you still did it."

"I called the police straight away," he said. Beca didn't respond. She didn't leave the room but she didn't turn around either. Her head rested against the closed-door. She had never heard the details of how her mom had died. She knew she died from blunt trauma to the head, but that was it. "She was getting in my face about something. You remember how she got. She was yelling at me for ruining her life. For ruining yours. I pushed her. Not even that hard. I'd pushed her harder before. She hit her head on the table and then..." He trailed off. Beca knew what happened next. He called the police and waited on the front porch, smoking a cigarette.

"Why are you trying to explain yourself?" She asked, her voice a whisper. "You beat her for two years. Is it supposed to make me feel better that what actually killed her was just a little push?" She turned to face him, tears in her eyes now. "Is it my forgiveness you want? Is that why you wanted to see me?" He stared at her for a long time, not having an answer to her question. "We're done. Go back to prison and rot there." She left the room, slamming the door shut. "Let's go," Beca said, holding out her hand for Chloe to take.

"How did it go?" Chloe asked once they reached the car. Beca ran a hand through her hair, tears still sparkling in her eyes.

"He's just a man, Chlo'," she said, letting out a breath. "He can't hurt me." Chloe smiled at her and leant across to kiss her. "Can you do me a favour?"

"Anything," Chloe replied.

* * *

After a thirty minute drive, Beca told Chloe to pull up. The car slowed to a stop outside a small house.

"So," Chloe said, looking out of the window, "this is it?"

"This is it," Beca said. She opened the door and Chloe copied her. Beca was looking up at the a house she hadn't seen in since she was twelve. The house her dad left her in. The house where she watched her mom's spiralling depression. The house which Frank moved into and tore apart their lives. The house where her mom died.

"Why are we here?" Chloe asked after a few minutes of Beca just staring up.

"I'm addressing my nightmares today," she said, smiling softly. "Frank is just a man. This is just a house. Just one place left to go, if you're up for it?"

"Of course I am," Chloe said, smiling.

* * *

By the time they arrived at the cemetery, it was getting dark and it took Beca a long time to find her mom. Eventually they reached it.

"This is one of your nightmares?" Chloe asked, softly as Beca knelt on the grass below. Chloe knelt beside her, her hand resting on the small of Beca's back.

"I had a dream as a kid that she was trapped here. Buried alive and screaming. Smashing the coffin to get out until it filled with earth and dirt. I've only been back here a few times. I still get the dream sometimes," Beca said, running a hand along the grass beneath her.

"I'm sorry Becs," Chloe said softly. "Do you think coming here will help stop the dream?" Beca nodded.

"She's not down there. Wherever my mom is, it's not below us," Beca said, resolutely. She still didn't stand. After a while, she spoke again. "I can't live here anymore, Chlo'."

"Where? In Barden?" Chloe asked. Beca nodded.

"Too many ghosts. Too much has happened. Maybe it's time I moved on."

"And what about me?" Chloe's voice cracked. Beca turned to face her.

"Well, obviously, I'm bringing you with me," she said. "You'll come, won't you?"


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Feels like a filler chapter, but it's still nice filler :P I have found that I seem to enjoy writing Chloe and Beca in bed, talking about nothing, more than other things :P Anyway, I think this story is winding down now, maybe only a couple of chapters left :)**

**Much love to you all!  
**

**I do now own Pitch Perfect or any of its characters.**

* * *

"You... You want me to come with you?" Chloe asked as they made their way back to her car.

"Of course I do," Beca said, surprised at Chloe's own surprise. "When we were talking the other day about our future, I meant all that stuff about marriage and kids. I was serious about us. I am serious about us, aren't you?"

"Of course I am, Beca," Chloe said, taking the other girl's hand and pulling them to a stop. "And if you want to move on, then I'll follow you. I'm with you 'til the end, Becs." She brought their lips together.

"I love you," Beca said, smiling, her eyes closed, their foreheads pressed together.

"I love you too," Chloe said.

They arrived at their apartment at around 10pm. Both of them too tried to do anything other than crawl into bed.

"Where do you want to move to?" Chloe asked, sleepily. The brunette's arms were wrapped around her waist and she was pressing gentle kisses to the back of her neck.

"I was thinking of L.A.," Beca said, softly. "Try the music thing out."

"Awesome," Chloe said, smiling. "When are you gonna tell your dad?"

"He wants to go for dinner with us next week. I'll tell him then."

* * *

That week passed in a blur of late nights at the bar and even later nights sitting up with Chloe, making exciting plans for their move.

The girls arrived at the restaurant and Beca saw her dad sitting at a table. He spotted them and waved them over.

"Hey dad," she said, holding the chair out for Chloe before taking her seat.

"Hey, Becs. Chloe. How are things?" He asked, as a waiter handed out menus and took their drinks orders. Beca glanced at Chloe who gave her a smile.

"I, uh, saw Frank in the hospital," she said. The smile on her dad's face dropped.

"You what?" He said.

"He asked to see me, so I saw him. I think he wanted my forgiveness, but he didn't get it," she said. Chloe rested her hand on Beca's thigh and squeezed it.

"Why would you go and see him?"

"I... I don't know. It's complicated. I wanted to see that he was human. That he wasn't invincible," Beca said, struggling to explain herself. Her dad sighed and rubbed his eyes.

"Okay," he said. "Did it work?" Beca nodded.

"I haven't had a nightmare in a week," she said. "I usually get them almost every night."

"Well, that's good then, I guess," he said. "Any other news?"

"I want to move to L.A.," Beca said. Her dad sat in silence, looking at the two girls. "Chloe will be coming with me." He still didn't say anything. "I know you're losing two barmaid's here," she said, looking at Chloe, worried that her dad wasn't speaking.

"Becs, I'm selling the bar," he said, eventually.

"Wow, okay," Beca said, leaning back slightly, trying to digest this new information. "Why?"

"Because my daughter was stabbed outside of it," he said.

"Dad," Beca said, unsure what else to say.

"I want to go back to teaching," he said. "I was actually worried about telling you." He laughed. "If you want to move to L.A. Beca, of course I'll help you."

"You don't have to help me," Beca said, her face breaking into a grin.

"I know. But I want to," he said. Beca excused herself to go to the bathroom and left Chloe alone with her dad. "I hope you know how much my daughter cares for you."

"Oh, I do," she said. "And I hope you know how much I care for her. She means the world to me."

"I can see that," he said, smiling warmly. "I thought she was in love when she was with Izzy but that was nothing compared to this." Chloe couldn't keep the grin from her face. "But I have to give you the serious dad talk. Beca doesn't trust easily. She isn't one for opening up or sharing her feelings or anything like that. So she must really love you to have let you in. Just, please, don't break that trust she's given you."

"I won't," Chloe said, her face serious now. "I promise you, that won't happen." He smiled again.

"Good."

* * *

"Beca Mitchell, you are not serious?" Stacie said, staring open-mouthed at Beca. She had just heard the news that John was selling Holden's, and now Beca had broken it to her that she and Chloe were moving to L.A. "You're actually leaving?"

"I am," Beca said.

"Damn, I never thought you'd never actually go through with it," the tall brunette said, almost pouting.

"Sorry, dude," Beca said. "But I gotta move on from here."

"Well, the place won't be the same without you, shorty," Fat Amy said, donning her armband and moving outside to begin her shift.

"Quit sulking, Stace," Beca said with a laugh as Stacie still sat, arms folded across her chest. "You can come and visit."

"You're damn right I'm coming to visit," Stacie said.

The rest of the shift passed without drama, and soon Chloe and Beca were closing up the bar. Chloe didn't like leave her alone to lock up anymore and Beca was secretly grateful.

"Babe, is that your phone?" Chloe asked as she stacked the chairs on top of the tables so she could sweep the floor. Beca stopped loading glasses into the dishwasher and listened.

"Yep," she said, "two seconds." She disappeared into the back. Chloe waited five minutes for the small brunette to return, and when she didn't she went in search of her.

"Becs?" She said, spotting Beca sitting on one of the sofas, her phone on the coffee table in front of her. "Everything okay?"

"Frank died," she said. Her voice quiet. Her face unreadable.

"Wow," Chloe said, sitting beside her. "I thought he'd recovered? I thought he went back to prison?"

"He had. He did. He... He killed himself. Izzy called. She said she'd thought I'd want to know," Beca said, her voice still devoid of emotion.

"How do you feel?" Chloe asked, taking her hand.

"I don't know," Beca said, shifting on the seat. "I mean, he's free of it now, isn't he? Free of the guilt. Free of her."

"I guess," Chloe said, unsure what to say. Beca didn't speak again for a while as an internal debate took place inside her head. On one had she was glad. Relieved. Happy. Happy that he was gone and couldn't hurt her or anyone else. But on the other hand, death was an escape. A freedom. He had spent ten years in jail thinking about what he'd done, but ten years didn't feel like enough. Try twenty. Thirty. Fifty. "Beca," Chloe said, eventually breaking Beca out of her thoughts. "Let's go home, okay?"

"Yeah," Beca said, shaking herself. "Sorry."

"Don't be sorry," Chloe said, kissing Beca's knuckles before they left the bar.

They walked in silence back to the apartment. Chloe kept squeezing Beca's hand and felt reassured when she squeezed back.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Chloe asked as they changed for bed. Beca shook her head.

"Let's talk about something good," Beca said, lying in bed and pulling the redhead to lie beside her.

"Like what?" Chloe asked, smiling as Beca kissed her cheek.

"I dunno," Beca said, "us. The future. The future's exciting now." Chloe laughed.

"Okay," she said, adjusting their positions so Beca's head was on her chest, curled into her side, as her arm draped across the redhead's stomach. "What about kids? Shall we talk about them?"

"Sure," Beca said, smiling contentedly as she felt Chloe's steady heartbeat beneath her. "You want them, right?"

"I do," Chloe said, her free hand playing with Beca's hair. "And you do?"

"I think so," Beca said. "I mean, if you'd asked me this time last year I'd probably have said no and called you crazy." Chloe laughed. "But now, now I think I do." She paused. "I know I do."

"I've always wanted kids," Chloe said. "But when I was with Tom I swore I would never let myself get pregnant. I couldn't bring them into that kind of household."

"Did Tom ever know that's how you felt?" Beca asked, craning her neck slightly so she could look at the redhead.

"No," Chloe said. "There were some close calls. A few morning after pills. He wasn't a fan of using... protection." Beca felt her anger towards him surge upwards. "I was on the pill but he didn't like me taking it. He said it made me gain weight."

"Fucking hell," Beca said, unable to contain herself. "Sorry," she said after outburst. "I forget sometimes how awful he was to you. I got so wrapped up in the Frank thing that I forgot you were still dealing with the shit storm he left behind." She sat up and started slowly and softly kissing Chloe on the top of her head. On her cheeks. Her forehead. "I'm sorry," she said, her voice no more than a whisper. "I've been a pretty terrible girlfriend."

"Don't be ridiculous," Chloe said, cupping Beca's face with her hands. "Look at me," she said when Beca tried to avert her eyes as the guilt bubbled up inside her. "You're amazing. You saved me from that relationship. And I don't blame you for being a bit preoccupied with Frank. The man who killed your mom turns up after ten years and wants to see you? I'd be a bit preoccupied too." She laughed before kissing Beca tenderly.

"God I can't wait to properly start my life with you," Beca said, her hands moving up to get tangled in Chloe's hair.

"Me neither."


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: So I'm guessing we have maybe two or three chapters left. This has been another fic I've really enjoyed writing and I've had a really great response for it. Y'all are amazing :)**

**I do not own Pitch Perfect or any of its characters.**

* * *

The night before they left, Beca couldn't sleep. She had slid out of Chloe's arms at around 3am and went into the living room. Her possessions were all surrounding her in boxes. Stacked up, waiting to be hauled into a van in three hours. Her hands brushed along the edges of the boxes as she moved into the kitchen to make coffee. She then realised that their kettle plus every mug and spoon they owned was now packed away somewhere. She heard Chloe's footsteps behind her a second before she felt the redhead slip her arms around her waist.

"Why aren't you in bed?" Beca asked, smiling as she turned around to face her.

"I could ask you the same question," Chloe replied sleepily. "Why are you in the kitchen?"

"I wanted coffee, but everything is packed," Beca said, resting her head on Chloe's chest as she held her.

"It's three in the morning," Chloe yawned, her cheek resting on the top of Beca's head. "Why do you want coffee now?"

"The moving guys are coming at six," she said, yawning and closing her eyes.

"Which is exactly why you should be in bed, sleeping," Chloe said, ending their hug and tugging the brunette back to the bedroom.

"I'm too excited," Beca grumbled. "It's like Christmas Eve."

"I know," Chloe said, pulling her into bed. "But you're gonna be cranky on the drive tomorrow."

"I won't be cranky," Beca said, curling into Chloe's back.

"You're always cranky," Chloe said.

"Well, then an extra three hours sleep won't change that," Beca said, stifling a yawn. "Did we definitely pack everything?"

"Everything except our clothes for tomorrow," Chloe said, smiling as Beca began absentmindedly running her hand under her shirt, stroking her stomach.

"And we have all the essential stuff in your car?"

"Yes," Chloe replied. "I still don't see how your mixing equipment counts as essential, but the big box of pots and pans don't," she added, laughing.

"I'm not trusting those movers with that stuff," Beca said, laughing herself. As a going away present, Aubrey, Stacie, Fat Amy, Cynthia Rose, Jesse, Luke and Benji had all chipped in to get her some brand new mixing equipment. Her dad had paid for a van and someone to drive it so Beca and Chloe could both ride in Chloe's car together. They were scheduled to get to their new house a few hours before the van did, so they packed the essential and expensive stuff into the car. Beca's dad had also helped them buy their new house, so they didn't have to worry about finding a nice place to live.

_**"Dad you don't have to do this," Beca said when he handed her the cheque.**_

_**"Becs, I've been saving for this for a long time. I knew you'd want to head to L.A. eventually, and I want to help," he said, smiling as his daughter threw her arms around him.**_

"Can we stop off at Starbucks before we leave tomorrow?" Beca asked.

"You mean, before we leave in four hours? Yes we can," Chloe said, glancing at the clock. "Wait, make that three and a half hous."

"Shit," Beca grumbled, "sorry."

"It's fine," Chloe laughed. "Just know that if I fall asleep at the wheel and kill us both, it's your fault." Beca laughed.

"That's why we're going to drink our body weight in coffee first."

After what felt like seconds of sleep, someone was knocking on their door. Beca groaned as she detached herself from Chloe and went to the front door. Glancing through the peep-hole she saw Stacie and Aubrey standing there.

"It's 5am," Beca said, rubbing her eyes as she opened the door.

"And we're here to make sure you don't sleep in," Aubrey said, brightly.

"The guys will be here with Amy and Cynth in an hour to help pack up the van," Stacie said. She was a lot less chirpy than Aubrey.

"I'd offer you coffee, but everything is packed," Beca said, yawning. "I'll go get Chloe up." She climbed back onto the bed and kissed Chloe's exposed shoulder. "Chlo', we have visitors."

"Make them go away," Chloe mumbled, sleepily.

"I wish I could," Beca laughed.

"Okay, I'm gonna shower, you can entertain them," she said, forcing herself up and out of bed.

An hour and a half later and Beca and Chloe were loading the last of their boxes into the back of the van. Their friends and Beca's dad watched as the last box slid into the van. The driver pulled the shutter of the van down.

"So I'll set off in a few hours and I should be there by about eight-ish tonight," he said, double checking the address with Beca.

"Okay, cool," she said before he climbed into his van and drove off. "Did you remember to leave your key upstairs?" Beca asked Chloe. The redhead nodded and tried to subtly wipe her eyes with the back of her hand. "Chlo'?"

"I'm fine," she said, laughing as more tears pooled in her eyes. "It's just a little sad, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Beca agreed, her own voice catching in her throat as she took Chloe's hands. "It is." She heard sniffling from behind her and saw that both her dad and her friends all had tears in their eyes or, in Stacie's case, running down their cheeks. She laughed at them before she started crying properly. The reality that she was about to move away from her dad and friends hitting her hard.

"Come here," her dad said, opening his arms so he could hug her. "We're all really going to miss you," he said, softly into her hair. "Both of you." Chloe was being hugged by everyone else as Beca clung to her dad. The fabric of his shirt was balled up in her fist. Beca hadn't anticipated how much leaving would hurt, she had been too focused on the future. "I'm always just a phone call away, Becs."

"I know," she said, wiping her eyes as she pulled away. She was then immediately hugged by everyone else, all of them half laughing and half crying as they said their goodbyes.

"Becky," Luke said, pulling her to one side. "Give this girl a call when you get to L.A." He handed her a business card. "She's called Lily and she owns a few clubs out there. I've already sent her some of your stuff and she loved it."

"Dude, thank you so much," she said, hugging him again. "I'm not even gonna get mad that you called me Becky." He laughed.

After another round of goodbye hugs, Beca and Chloe climbed into the redhead's car and they pulled away, Beca waving from the window.

"This is it," she said, a wave of excitement sweeping over her. She reached over and put her hand on Chloe's.

"This is it," the redhead repeated.

* * *

After a lot of driving and several coffee stops, Beca and Chloe pulled into the drive of their new home.

"We made it," Chloe said, stretching.

"We sure did," Beca said, looking over at her. She leant across and kissed her. "How long do we have before the guy in the truck shows up?" Chloe checked her watch.

"An hour," she said. "Why?"

"I thought we could christen our new bed," Beca said, biting her lip and smirking.

"Our bed that doesn't even have pillows on it?" Chloe said, grinning.

"We don't need pillows yet," she said. "We won't be sleeping."


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Okay, so some people pointed out that my last chapter was also a filler chapter. Which wasn't my intention but it is definitely true. I think I've been too focused on updating quickly and making sure that it felt real. Which is why I spaced out the drama in this fic with a lot of filler. Because for a lot of people, life isn't a series of dramatic events, it's a series of nothing really happening, maybe with a dramatic event thrown in now and then. Now, it occurs to me that many people might not want their fics full of filler. So, I'm sorry for that. Thank you to the reviews for mentioning it because had they not, I would probably end up writing fics that were nothing but Chloe and Beca in bed talking about nothing. Which probably isn't fun to read. It's just hard fitting in drama that feels real. I don't want to be over the top and angsty, but of course I don't want to be boring. I also feel like maybe the quality in my writing is dipping slightly. I think that has to do with my job which basically changed overnight from being really boring, but giving me a lot of time to think, to being pretty stressful and making me want to hide in cupboards and cry. And I've gotten a lot of overtime recently too so my job has gone from two days a week to five days a week. So I'm sorry that the quality is dipping and I'm sorry for all the filler. I'm just not really happy right now, and writing fluffy filler chapters is a nice little escape.**

**Anyway, I'm sorry for ranting a bit. None of this probably makes any sense but I'm tired and I felt like I needed to explain myself. _I must stress that I'm not after sympathy and I want you all to carry on writing honest reviews. If you don't like something, tell me. It's the only way I can stop myself being lazy and just writing the same old chapters again and again._**

**Sorry again. (Here's a double update to make up for it)**

**I do not own Pitch Perfect or any of its characters.**

* * *

_One Year Later_

Chloe stretched out in bed, noticing that the space beside her was still cold and empty. She glanced at the alarm clock on the bedside table and saw that it was 1am. She climbed out of bed and into the living room. Their dog, Holden, was lying near the front door. Patiently waiting for Beca to come home from work. Chloe opened the door to the back garden and called him over.

"Come on," she said sitting by the open door as he trotted past her, his tail wagging. She picked up her phone and tapped out a text.

**Chloe: Hey babe, hope work doesn't suck too much tonight. Love you xxx**

Holden returned from the garden to his spot by the door. Knowing Beca wouldn't be in for another couple of hours, Chloe went back to bed.

Chloe's alarm woke her up at 7:30am. The bed was still empty. After showering she walked into the living room to see Beca asleep on the sofa. Holden was stretched out across her legs and there was a half-empty beer on the coffee table. As Chloe opened the back door, Holden jumped from Beca eagerly, kicking her in the stomach as he did. She grunted and rolled off the sofa, hitting the floor with a thud. Chloe tried not to giggle as she went over to help her up.

"Morning," she said.

"Morning," Beca replied, running a hand through her hair. She smelt vaguely of cigarettes. Chloe didn't comment.

"You didn't come to bed," Chloe said.

"Didn't want to wake you," Beca said.

"Don't worry about that kind of thing. I don't mind if you wake me up," Chloe kissed her forehead.

"I'm gonna jump in the shower," she said, trying to smile.

"I thought we could do something tonight, if you're up for it? Go for dinner or something," Chloe said.

"I can't, I have to work," Beca said, her forced smile slipping.

"Again? You're exhausted Becs, you need a night off," Chloe said, frowning at her girlfriend.

"Lily said there might be some record label guys coming. It could be my break," Beca stood up and kissed Chloe on the top of the head before heading to the bathroom. Chloe sighed. She fed Holden, had some breakfast before getting ready for work. By the time she was ready to leave, Beca was passed out in their bed, Holden curled up at her feet.

* * *

When Chloe returned at half six that evening, Beca was in the exact same position. Chloe doubted she'd even woken up. She let Holden out and then returned to sit on the bed beside the sleeping brunette. She lightly brushed the hair from her face and her hand travelled down to gently touch the scar on her exposed stomach. Beca's eyebrows furrowed and Chloe kissed her forehead.

"Time is it?" She mumbled, confused by the darkness.

"Half six," Chloe said. "Are you hungry?" Beca stomach grumbled in response. "I'll fix you something."

Beca shovelled the food into her mouth, still half asleep, Holden sat by her chair waiting for scraps. She tossed him some bits of bacon and he rested his front paws on her legs. Beca scratched behind his ears and he closed his eyes, almost smiling. Chloe couldn't stop the jealous pang that rose inside her as she watched Beca give the dog more affection that she'd given her in months.

"Are you sure I can't convince you to call in sick tonight?" Chloe asked, taking Beca's empty plate and handing her a mug of coffee.

"I'm sure," Beca said, gulping the coffee. "Besides, I'd be too scared to phone in sick to Lily. She asked me if I wanted to see a dead body once. I'm sure it was her last DJ."

"Maybe she worked him to death," Chloe said, turning on the dishwasher.

"Hey," Beca said, taking Chloe's hand and pulling her back, "it's my job, Chlo'. I don't want to work all night in these shitty clubs, but that's the way it is right now." Beca let go of Chloe's hand.

"I know," Chloe said. "I don't mean to get at you. I just feel like I never get to see you. I miss you."

"I miss you too," Beca said, sighing. She checked her watch. "I've got to get ready."

"Okay," Chloe said, defeated. She sat on the chair Beca had just vacated and Holden immediately jumped into her lap, despite being a little too big, and licking her face.

Half an hour later and Beca kissed Chloe on the cheek and headed out to work. Knowing Beca wouldn't be back until the morning, Chloe changed into her pyjamas before climbing into bed, Holden following her wherever she went. She reached into the drawer in her bedside table and pulled out a small box. She opened it and her thumb brushed along the engagement ring inside. Tears rose to her eyes before she snapped it shut and replaced it in the drawer. Tonight was supposed to be the night. Tonight she was going to ask. But it had been so long since she and Beca had actually talked, she wondered if that was what the brunette still wanted. She turned so she was lying on her side and curled herself into the foetal position. Holden had climbed off the bed and went to lie in his usual spot by the door. Chloe cried softly, feeling more alone than she had in a long time. The sound of her sobs drew Holden back to the bed, nudging his way into her arms.

She wasn't sure how long she'd been crying for, but the tears were still falling when the bedroom door slowly opened. Beca stood there, scuffing her feet against the floor.

"Are you crying because of me?" She asked, her eyes downcast.

"What are you doing back?" Chloe asked looking at the clock and seeing it was only 10pm.

"I finally asked for the night off," Beca said, moving hesitantly into the bedroom.

"Your shift started two hours ago," Chloe said, sitting up.

"It took me two hours to work up the courage," Beca said. Chloe laughed and a smile crept onto Beca's face. "So, are you crying because of me?"

"I dunno," Chloe answered, honestly. Beca nodded, tears in her eyes now. "We need to talk, I think."

"Okay," Beca said, her voice a whisper. She perched on the edge of the bed, twisting her hands in her lap. "I know I've been a shit girlfriend lately," she said, still not looking at Chloe. "I put work first and I shouldn't have. I thought that this was my dream. You know, DJing in L.A., making music. I was wrong. I mean, I still love making music, but... But I don't think it's my dream. You're my dream. So... So if you give me another chance, I'll try to prove that to you."

"Another chance?" Chloe asked, confused.

"Just... Just don't break up with me, okay?" Beca started crying properly. Her breath coming in short gasps. "I can do better. I've been an idiot, I know. But I promise I'll do better."

"Beca,"

"Please," Beca cut her off. "I fucking love you."

"I'm not breaking up with you," Chloe said, moving so she was kneeling in front of the brunette. "I just need to know you still want a future with me. I need to know you're still in this."

"Of course I still want a future with you," Beca said, grabbing the front of Chloe's top and pulling her towards her. She brought their lips together in a kiss that was so full of love and need that it filled both their eyes with tears again. "Jesus fucking Christ, I love you so much."

"I love you too," Chloe sobbed, their foreheads pressed together as they breathed each other in.

"Tomorrow I'll call up Lily and tell her I need some proper time off," Beca said, one hand in Chloe's hair, the other resting on the back of her neck, their foreheads still together. "I'll take a whole week if I can get it. I'll get us back on track."

"Okay," Chloe said, still crying, her hands on Beca's waist.

"I'm not losing you," Beca said. "I can't fucking lose you."

"You won't," Chloe said softly, bringing their lips together again.


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: One chapter left after this one kiddos :)**

**I want to say sorry for my little outburst author's note in the last chapter and that you're all really sweet for the nice comments and messages I got. From now on I'll be focusing on quality rather than speed.**

**I do not own Pitch Perfect or any of its characters**

* * *

"Holden, sit," Beca said, sitting on the bench in the garden. The dog sat, obediently. "Good boy!" Beca said, in a voice she would only use when talking to the dog. "Who's a good boy?" Holden wagged his tail. She stubbed her cigarette out on the wall and then she patted her thighs. "Come here!" He leapt up onto her lap. "Good boy! Good boy!" Chloe was hovering at the garden door.

"You're such a dork," Chloe said, joining her with two mugs of coffee.

"Yep," Beca said happily as Holden licked her cheeks. Both girls had managed to get two weeks off work and were intending to spent the whole time re-building their relationship. Holden jumped off Beca's lap and began barking at a squirrel. Now they were alone, Beca gave Chloe an almost shy smile.

"Shall we go inside?" Chloe asked, pulling her dressing gown around her. Beca nodded and followed the redhead through the door.

"So, what do you want to do today?" Beca asked, sitting on the sofa.

"I kinda thought maybe we could just hang out? You know, talk and stuff," Chloe said. Beca nodded.

"Okay," she said, fiddling with the stray threads at the edge of her t-shirt.

"Why are you so nervous?" Chloe asked, taking her hand.

"I'm scared you've changed your mind," Beca said.

"Never, Becs," Chloe said. "What we have is amazing and I'd never want to lose that. Just because we've hit a rough patch doesn't mean we chuck everything away."

"I'm so relieved to hear you say that," Beca said, allowing herself a smile.

"Although on the subject of chucking stuff away, where have you stashed your cigarettes?" Chloe asked, raising her eyebrows slightly. Beca smiled sheepishly.

"Ah," she said.

"Ah, indeed," Chloe said, "cough them up."

"I'm not that sneaky, am I?" Beca said.

"Nope, sorry babe," Chloe said, smiling as Beca went into the bedroom. "Oh," she called into the bedroom. "There's something in my drawer. A box. Will you grab it for me?"

"Sure," Beca replied. She returned holding a pack of cigarettes and the box from Chloe's drawer.

"Thanks," Chloe said, taking the cigarettes from her and moving into the kitchen to throw them away.

"What's in the box?" Beca asked.

"Open it," Chloe said from the kitchen. Beca opened it and her eyes fell upon the smaller black box that was inside. Beca's heart seemed to stop. With a shaking hand, she pushed open the lid of the smaller box and inside sat an engagement ring.

"Oh my god," she said softly. Chloe returned, perched on the edge of the sofa, studying Beca's face. "Chloe, is this for real?"

"Of course it's for real," Chloe said. "I want to marry you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you." Chloe moved closer. "Do... Do you want that?" Beca nodded, her eyes full of tears.

"God yes," she whispered. Chloe smiled and took the ring from its box, sliding onto the ring finger of Beca's left hand. Beca wrapped her arms around Chloe's neck and kissed her.

"I never imagined proposing like this," Chloe said, laughing slightly.

"I always thought I'd be the one to ask," Beca said, smiling. "But I'm glad you did."

"Yeah," Chloe said, smiling. "Me too." They lay on the sofa together for a while, talking about when they should get married.

"We have a couple of options," Beca said. "We can save up and wait a year or so."

"I don't want to wait that long to be Mrs Mitchell," Chloe said. Beca grinned.

"Mrs Mitchell, huh?"

"I'd like to be Chloe Mitchell. I think it sounds better than Beca Beale, anyway," she said, chuckling.

"Agreed," Beca said. "Not that I don't love the name Beale, but alliteration names only work if you're a superhero." Chloe giggled again.

"You could be Rebecca Beale?"

"Ew," Beca said, scrunching her faces up. "Rebecca."

"So Chloe Mitchell it is then," Chloe said, rolling her eyes and smirking.

"So, you don't want to wait a year? Well, we could always use the money my dad gave us when we moved?" Beca said. Chloe shook her head.

"That money was for when we start our family," she said. "We shouldn't spend it on a wedding." Beca thought for a minute.

"Okay," she said. "Instead of having a big blow-out wedding, why not just get married at city hall? You know, invite a few friends, my dad, your family. Sign some papers then just go and have a nice meal and a few drinks? I mean, it's not the romantic and fancy wedding I'd want you to have, but, you know, it could be nice?"

"Becs, I don't care about a fancy wedding. I just want to be your wife," Chloe said. "I think your idea sounds great."

"Yeah?" Beca said, grinning.

"Yeah," Chloe said, returning her smile.

"I can't believe we just got engaged," Beca said, looking down at the ring on her finger. "I feel like you need one." She thought for a minute and then her face lit up. "Wait here!" She said, rushing into the bedroom. Chloe sat, puzzled as she heard muffled swearing and the sound of boxes falling over. "Got it!" She shouted, before rushing back to the living room. She bent down on one knee in front of Chloe. "Chloe Beale," she said, grinning, "will you marry me?" Chloe giggled.

"Becs, I literally proposed to you like half an hour ago. Don't try and out propose me," she said.

"I need an answer, Beale," Beca said.

"Fine," Chloe said smirking, "yes I'll marry you." Copying Chloe's actions, Beca slipped a ring onto Chloe's left hand. The redhead's eyebrows furrowed as she looked down at the ring. "Beca this is beautiful, where did you get it?"

"It was my moms," Beca said, smiling. "I think it belonged to her grandma or something."

"Becs, you can't give me this," Chloe said. "You should be wearing it."

"I can't really propose to myself, can I Chlo'?" Beca said smirking.

"You know what I mean," Chloe said, still frowning. "This was your mom's, you shouldn't give it away." Beca rolled her eyes slightly.

"Chloe, it's an engagement ring. You're supposed to give them away. I think my mom would rather me give it to someone I love to wear, rather than me keeping it in the cupboard. Don't you think?" Beca said. Chloe nodded and allowed a smile to break over her face. "So you'll wear it?"

"Of course I will," she said.

"Hallelujah," Beca said, smirking.

"Do you think she would have liked me?" Chloe asked.

"Who? My mom?" Beca asked. Chloe nodded. "Oh she would have loved you." Still holding Chloe's hand, Beca's thumb brushed along the ring. "I wish you could have met her. If you ignore her terrible taste in men, she was awesome."

"She sounds awesome," Chloe said, bringing her hand up to sweep the hair from Beca's face. "And what kind of hypocrite would I be if I judged someone based on their taste in men?" Chloe said, smiling.

"But your taste in women is impeccable," Beca said, kissing her.

"Oh, I have excellent taste in women," Chloe said, grinning between kisses.


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: So here it is! The final chapter. Another fic that I'm sad to see go.**

**Thank you all for sticking with me on this one. Thank you for sticking with the ups and downs, you're all amazing :)**

**I do not own Pitch Perfect or any of its characters.**

* * *

_Two Years Later_

"Anything?" Beca asked, sitting outside the bathroom, waiting for Chloe to emerge.

"I've literally just peed on it," Chloe replied from inside. Beca heard the toilet flush followed by the sound of running water. "We have to wait three minutes." She emerged from the bathroom, holding the pregnancy test in her hand in a bundle of tissues.

"Now, just remember they said it could take a few more days. So if you're not pregnant right now, it doesn't mean it hasn't worked, okay?" Beca said. Chloe nodded. "God, I'm so nervous," Beca said, pacing around the living room.

"I know," Chloe replied. "Me too."

This was their third attempt and Chloe had begun getting nervous. Terrified that she was unable to have kids. They had both agreed that if they weren't successful this time, then Beca would try. Beca hoped it wouldn't come to that. Chloe so desperately wanted to be the one to carry the baby and Beca didn't want to take that away from her wife.

"How long as it been?" Beca asked, chewing her lip.

"Two minutes," Chloe said, feeling sick.

"Okay," Beca said. She stopped pacing and sat beside Chloe on the sofa, taking the hand that wasn't holding the test. "Okay." They spent the final minute in silence.

"It's time," Chloe said, finally. They looked down at the stick together.

One stripe showed.

Negative.

"Fuck," Beca said softly, closing her eyes. Chloe stood up, threw the test in the trash and then slammed the bedroom door behind her. At the noise, Holden began barking. "Shh," Beca said to him as he ran through the room, looking for the source of the noise. She rested her head in her hands as the waves of disappointment kept crashing over her. She knew she had to move to comfort Chloe, but she couldn't right now. Holden jumped up on her lap and started trying to nudge his head between her hands. "Okay," she said, standing and walking to the bedroom door. She tapped on it lightly. When there was no response, she turned the handle and Holden forced his way through the tiny gap between the door and the frame. He jumped up onto the bed and immediately lay beside her. His head resting on her thighs. Chloe was curled on her side, facing the wall, tears snaking from the corners of her eyes. Beca crawled onto the bed beside her, pressing the front of her body into the back of Chloe's. She began running a gentle through her hair, repeating the actions of their first night together. "It's going to happen for us, Chlo'," she said, softly.

"What if it doesn't?" Chloe replied.

"Then we figure something out," Beca said. "But we're going to be parents. We're going to be amazing parents." Chloe didn't speak, she just changed her position so she could bury her face in the crook of Beca's neck, as her body shook with sobs. "It's okay," Beca said. "We'll take the test again tomorrow."

"Okay," Chloe croaked out.

The next afternoon, they repeated the test.

Negative.

Chloe spent the rest of the day in bed. Beca was unable to coax her out, so she stayed with her. Holden lying obediently at her feet.

The day after was the same.

"We'll go to the doctors next week," Beca said. "Make sure everything's okay."

The morning of their appointment came and Beca was sitting waiting in the living room. Chloe was in the bathroom. She had spent most of the morning in there.

"Ready?" Beca asked when she emerged. Chloe nodded. She looked truly unhappy. "Okay?"

"Just feeling shit," Chloe said. "I've been throwing up all morning." Beca's eyes widened.

"We need to take another test," she said.

"What? No, we don't. It's probably the pizza from last night," Chloe said.

"Please, Chlo'. Just take the test," Beca said, giving Chloe the puppy-dog eyes that she couldn't refuse.

"Beca, we'll be late," Chloe said, running a hand through her hair.

"We can spare three minutes," Beca said, ushering Chloe into the bathroom.

The next few minutes were tense as they waited. A beeping alarm told them that three minutes was up. Neither one of them could look. It was almost a minute later when Chloe finally flipped the stick over to reveal the results.

Two lines. There were two lines staring back at them.

"Beca, it's... We're..." Chloe said, her heart pounding and tears spilling onto her cheeks. "Beca."

"We're having a baby, Chloe!" Beca said, pulling the redhead into a hug and covering her in kisses.

"We're having a baby," Chloe repeated.

After they recovered from their shock, they climbed into the car and Beca drove them to their appointment. They sat down in his office, hands linked between the chairs, smiles permanently etched onto their faces. The doctor seemed surprised by their expression.

"So, you're here for some fertility tests, right?" He said, puzzled.

"Actually," Chloe said, smiling at Beca, "we found out about twenty minutes ago that I'm pregnant."

"Oh," he said, his expression softening. "Well, congratulations."

"Thank you," Beca said. "We were wondering if you could maybe check that everything's okay? You know, since we're here anyway."

"Of course," he said.

Soon, Chloe was lying on a bed, her shirt pulled up revealing her stomach. A nurse squirted on something cold and jelly-like, before the nurse ran the scanner over her stomach. The sound of a fast heart beat filled the room. Beca's hand tightened around Chloe's.

"There's your baby," the nurse said, pointing at the screen.

"Holy crap," Beca whispered. Chloe giggled.

"Do you think it looks like me?" Chloe whispered back. Beca laughed this time.

"Totally," Beca said. "It's got that old potato look really going for it. You pull that look off really well."

"Thanks babe," Chloe said, still laughing. They watched the screen for a while. There wasn't really anything to see except the beating of its heart, but they couldn't take their eyes away. The sound was still echoing around the room. "I can't believe this."

"I know," Beca said, kissing Chloe's hand. Her lips brushing against the cool metal of her wedding ring. "I mean, I'm actually living my dream right now."

"Yeah?" Chloe said, tearing her eyes away from the screen to look at Beca.

"Yeah," she said. "You're my dream Chlo'. You always have been."

Chloe thought about all they'd been through. Chloe thought about that night when she showed up at Beca's apartment. Terrified as blood coated the side of her face. Before she knocked, she remembered standing at the door, knowing her life was probably about to change forever. She'd almost walked away. Almost turned around and walked back to Tom. She was so glad she hadn't done that.

She thought about the day Beca had been stabbed. She still got nightmares in which she would watch, helpless, as blood drained out of the brunette. When she woke up, she would pull Beca closer to her, her hand always brushing along the small scar on her stomach. Subtly checking it was a scar, not an open gushing wound.

Chloe thought about everything. All the bumps in their relationship. And as she looked into Beca's eyes she knew one thing for certain. Beca was her dream too.


End file.
